Evgeni Malkin entered Saturday night’s season finale in Montreal with a four-point lead over Alexander Ovechkin in the NHL scoring race. A year ago, it was Malkin who was chasing down Ovechkin, eventually falling six points shy of the Washington superstar. He wasn’t about to let another scoring title slip through his fingers.
Malkin jumped on the Canadiens early, backhanding a shot behind Carey Price for his 35th goal of the season at 1:09 of the first period. Pittsburgh would go on to win the game 3-1, and Malkin finished with 113 points, three more than Ovechkin, who completed his campaign with a goal and an assist in a loss to the Panthers.
Malkin joins Ovechkin as the only Russians to ever win the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer. But Malkin is hardly the first Penguin to top the scoring charts.
Lemieux Makes Art Ross Wins a Pittsburgh Tradition
From the moment Mario Lemieux took the ice in 1984, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been synonymous with scoring excellence. Lemieux claimed the franchise’s first Art Ross in 1987-88, scoring 168 points to snap Wayne Gretzky’s string of seven consecutive scoring titles. Lemieux captured six Art Ross Trophies in his storied career and set the tone for Pittsburgh’s scoring dominance.
Jaromir Jagr continued what Lemieux started. Jagr won his first scoring title in the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season while Lemieux recovered from a bad back and his battle with cancer. It was the first of five career Art Ross Trophies for Jagr, and he grabbed four straight between 1997-98 and 2000-01. In fact, Lemieux and Jagr combined to win nine scoring titles in a 10-year stretch from 1992 to 2001.
In 2005-06, Sidney Crosby captured his first Art Ross, leading the league with 120 points. Malkin’s victory gives Pittsburgh an amazing 13 scoring titles in the past 21 seasons.
The Art Ross Trophy, named for Hall of Famer Arthur Howie “Art” Ross, was first given to the league’s top point scorer in 1947-48. In the 61 years since, Pittsburgh’s 13 career victories rank first among NHL franchises.
Most Art Ross Trophies – Team
13 – Pittsburgh Penguins
9 – Montreal Canadiens
8 – Chicago Blackhawks
7 – Boston Bruins
7 – Detroit Red Wings
7 – Edmonton Oilers
4 – Los Angeles Kings
1 – Calgary Flames
1 – Colorado Avalanche
1 – New York Islanders
1 – San Jose Sharks
1 – Tampa Bay Lightening
1 – Washington Capitals
Most Art Ross Trophies – Individuals
10 – Wayne Gretzky
6- Gordie Howe
6 – Mario Lemieux
5 – Phil Esposito
5 – Jaromir Jagr
4 – Stan Mikita
3 – Guy Lafleur
Michael Dell - Michael Dell has been the Head Writer and Editor-in-Chief of LCS Hockey (www.lcshockey.com) since 1994. In his spare time he enjoys ...
