Malkin, who has been looking to Alex Ovechkin for ways to stay competitive, says he won't retire until the Penguins make the playoffs again.

The Pittsburgh Penguins got back in the win column on Thursday night, spoiling the Detroit Red Wings’ home opener at Little Caesars Arena — and Evgeni Malkin joined a historic club in the process. Mal

Considering his pre-retirement goals of playing postseason hockey, Malkin could have hinted at a trade request in the near future if the Penguins fail to clinch a postseason berth this or early next season.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin began Thursday night with 798 assists, earning a helper on Drew O'Connor's goal at 3:53 of the second period to get to 799. Later, O'Connor scored his second of the night with an assist to Malkin, but the goal was called back, thus nullifying his 800th career assist on a hand pass.

When the Penguins made the decision to keep their veteran core together, they all but ensured a number of career milestones would be reached by Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang over the next few years.

Evgeni Malkin issued a strong wake-up call to Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates after the ugly 6-0 loss to the New York Rangers.

Malkin hit the mark in just his 1,147th NHL game, joining 33 other players to score 800 assists in a career. Though many of them weren’t exactly playmakers, legends such as Jari Kurri, Guy Lafleur, Peter Stastny, Mats Sundin, and Teemu Selanne never scored that many in their Hall of Fame careers.