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Penguins’ Erik Karlsson hits 900-point milestone during win over Red Wings
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- Penguins’ Erik Karlsson hits 900-point milestone during win over Red Wings
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The Pittsburgh Penguins picked up their third consecutive win Thursday, defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime at PPG Paints Arena as Erik Karlsson reached a major career milestone. The veteran defenseman supplied two assists to reach 900 career NHL points, making him the 14th defenseman in league history and the second active blueliner to reach that total.
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Karlsson reached the milestone in his 1,123rd NHL game, finishing the night with assists on Sidney Crosby 's first-period power-play goal and Blake Lizotte 's late third-period tally. His career totals now stand at 203 goals and 697 assists. Among defensemen, Karlsson is eight points away from tying Scott Stevens for 13th and 15 points from matching Bobby Orr for 12th in all-time points. He is also three assists away from 700 for his career. Karlsson has posted three goals and 27 assists for 30 points in 39 games this season.
The win was made possible by Kris Letang 's clutch performance, who played his 1,200th NHL game and scored the game-winning goal just 58 seconds into overtime. Letang finished a one-timer from Crosby to seal the result. The goal was his 13th career overtime marker, tying Scott Niedermayer for the second-most by a defenseman in NHL history, behind only Brent Burns .
Crosby led Pittsburgh offensively with two goals and one assist, recording his third point on Letang's overtime winner. He opened the scoring with a power-play slap shot at 4:08 of the first period, then struck again 1:38 later after intercepting a Detroit pass, scoring his team-leading 23rd goal of the season. Crosby has eight points over his last five games. His first goal was also his 127th career game-opening tally, tying Gordie Howe for fourth all-time.
The Red Wings stayed within reach throughout a penalty-heavy contest. James van Riemsdyk cut the Penguins' early 2–0 lead with a first-period power-play goal, his 10th of the season. Andrew Copp tied the game early in the second after a misplay off the boards behind the Penguins' net. Lizotte restored Pittsburgh's lead at 15:51 of the third period, but Alex DeBrincat answered on Detroit's eighth power play at 17:02 to force overtime.
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Arturs Silovs earned the win with 24 saves, improving to three straight victories, while Cam Talbot stopped 27 shots for the Red Wings. The Penguins killed six of eight penalties and improved to 18-12-9 on the season. The two teams will meet again on Saturday in Detroit to conclude the home-and-home series.
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