Some of Evgeni Malkin's former Pittsburgh Penguins teammates have sent video messages of congratulations for his 1,000th game.
As the Pittsburgh Penguins return home for their ‘traditional’ day before Thanksgiving game, they will do so with a little extra to celebrate.
When the Penguins won 5-3 over the Chicago Blackhawks, Evgeni Malkin played in his 1,000th career game.
Ahead of their first game back home after the milestone, the Penguins have planned a celebration and that includes video messages from both current and former teammates of Malkin.
Former teammates Marc-Andre Fleury and James Neal both sent messages to Malkin congratulating him on his achievement.
“I’m glad I got to be a part of some of those games,” Fluery said. “Keep it up. Keep scoring.”
Fleury still stands as the greatest goalie in Penguins history, with 375 wins in black and gold.
Malkin and Fleury won three Stanley Cups together and both became known as some of the best personalities on the team.
“Congratulations on 1,000 games,” former linemate Neal said. “Pretty impressive for a guy that’s that lazy.”
Neal and Malkin shared a line for a couple of seasons and the two grew an enjoyable friendship, which came with often calling each other lazy.
While sharing a line, Malkin and Neal combined for 190 points during the 2011-12 season and 69 points in the shortened 2012-12 season.
Former Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said that it’s a lot of fun watching Malkin play and applauded him for reaching 1,000 games, despite a number of injuries.
As a day of celebration rolls on, more teammates, opponents, and friends will send congratulations to Malkin.
Current Penguins like Jake Guentzel and Brian Dumoulin have also sent video messages.
Fellow Russian countryman Pavel Datsyuk also said congratulations and he looks forward to more achievements and milestones.
When Malkin first entered the NHL in 2007, then Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar opened his doors an allowed the rookie forward to live with him.
The two grew close both on and off the ice; things have come full circle as Malkin joined Gonchar as one of six Russian-born players to ever play 1,000 games.
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