Sidney Crosby now stands alone as the Penguins' all-time scoring leader.
Crosby scored a goal and an assist in the first period in the Penguins' 4-3 shootout win over the Canadiens on Sunday, tying and then surpassing Mario Lemieux's record of 1,723 points to take over the franchise scoring lead.
It's was Lemieux's record for 36 years and 10 months.
The point record is the latest of Lemieux's records to fall to Crosby. He's already surpassed Lemieux in games played, assists, even-strength goals and most combined points including the postseason. He'll almost surely take the goals record too, now only 46 away from passing Lemieux for that one.
Of all those records to take ... this was the big one. But even as Crosby moves atop the franchise
"He's still No. 1 in my books," Crosby said. "I don't think you can put a stat line or a number on what he means to this team and to hockey. In my mind, he's still No. 1."
Crosby's had a lot of time to think about the impending milestone. He's been on the verge of tying or breaking it for some time now, with just one assist in his last four games before Sunday.
Crosby scored the Penguins' first goal in the win, redirecting a shot pass from Erik Karlsson that hit Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes and deflected in:
The record-setting goal came just shy of five minutes later on the power play. Crosby took a shot from the left circle that hit Bryan Rust in the shin and popped out into the slot, and Rickard Rakell put in the rebound:
It wasn't the prettiest of plays to set the record. It wasn't a perfect feed to one of his longtime teammates, or a game-changing goal from him. But for Crosby, he thought it "worked out well" -- his two most frequent linemates on this roster factored in, and it ended up being a pretty big goal in the context of the game, helping to kick off a start that eventually ended in a shootout win and snapped an eight-game skid.
"It's mixed emotions," Crosby said of the feeling when he got that assist. "I guess that number has been kind of hanging around. The hockey gods made me earn it, I feel, the last few games. But just to get the win, to get a win in a shootout, it all kind of lined up well tonight."
The Penguins' bench emptied in celebration after the goal with a loud ovation from the crowd. And at the next TV timeout, the Penguins aired a tribute video for the moment that had some of Crosby's career highlights, but also some clips from early in his career where we heard about external expectations for Crosby's career at the time, but also Lemieux predicting that Crosby would become "a great one."
It was almost hard to hear the video in the arena from the deafening cheers of the crowd. But the building turned dead-silent at the end, when a pre-recorded message from Lemieux appeared on the screen.
"Hey, Sid. Congratulations on passing me with 1,724 points. I knew when we played together in 2005 that you were going to be a very special player and accomplish a lot of great things in your career. Here we are 20 years later, and you are now one of the best to ever play the game. You've been a great ambassador for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the National Hockey League and the hockey world. I would just like to wish you the best the rest of the way, and again, congratulations. Well done, my friend."
Crosby didn't seem to want to watch the initial video too closely -- they were, of course, in the middle of a game and it was pretty emotional, as evidenced by his parents Troy and Trina tearing up in the stands. But when Crosby heard Lemieux's voice start, his eyes were glued to the screen along with the eyes of the 17,695 in attendance.
"You're trying to stay in the game, but also, just try to enjoy the moment too," Crosby said. "So it's hard to balance that sometimes, especially as you get older, you tend to look at things a little bit differently. And seeing the crowd go quiet when Mario's message came on, that was pretty special. And if you don't understand the impact he's had here and you were here tonight, I think you understand a little bit better now, given just how quiet it got. If there was any example of respect, it was that."
Dan Muse took it all in -- the reaction from the players, the roar of the crowd, the awe from everyone when Lemieux's words aired through PPG Paints Arena -- and realized "you're watching history. You're seeing it firsthand."
"For everybody that was here today, everybody involved, it was incredible," Muse continued. "Sid is such a humble person, but you know how special of a moment that has to be. And I think back, even conversations that I had with him getting to know him, you see how much pride he has in this organization and the history of this organization, and what's been accomplished here. With the legends that have come through here, and now for him to break that record, it's nothing short of incredible."
Crosby's not just a student of history -- that's his life. He grew up idolizing Lemieux. Lemieux was his mentor during his early months as a Penguin. Even as Crosby became established in the league, he still lived with Lemieux for years.
"You grow up watching him," Crosby said. "But you never expect that you're going to make the NHL, let alone play with him. I had the opportunity to play with him, live with him, learn from him. And the impact that he's had here on this team, on and off the ice, the impact that he's had on hockey in general, it's pretty amazing. There's real appreciation."
Crosby has set a lot of cool records or hit new milestones in recent years, ones he often downplays by calling it a "nice number." But this record means a lot to Crosby, because of that way he's now linked to Lemieux forever.
In typical Crosby fashion, though, what he really cared a lot about tonight was the end result. The Canadiens ultimately forced overtime after Noel Acciari's goal to give the Penguins a lead, and the Penguins came through with a massive shootout win to snap their eight-game losing streak and end their long-standing shootout woes. Contributing to the win made the moment that much more special.
"It's so much more enjoyable when you get the win," Crosby said. "The way things have been going, that's been my focus -- trying to play well, win hockey games, let the points take care of themselves. It can work out a lot of different ways -- maybe not at home, maybe in a loss -- and the fact that it came together here tonight, we got a big, big win, it adds to it."
THE ASYLUM
Crosby takes record, but Lemieux 'still No. 1'
Sidney Crosby now stands alone as the Penguins' all-time scoring leader.
Crosby scored a goal and an assist in the first period in the Penguins' 4-3 shootout win over the Canadiens on Sunday, tying and then surpassing Mario Lemieux's record of 1,723 points to take over the franchise scoring lead.
It's was Lemieux's record for 36 years and 10 months.
The point record is the latest of Lemieux's records to fall to Crosby. He's already surpassed Lemieux in games played, assists, even-strength goals and most combined points including the postseason. He'll almost surely take the goals record too, now only 46 away from passing Lemieux for that one.
Of all those records to take ... this was the big one. But even as Crosby moves atop the franchise
"He's still No. 1 in my books," Crosby said. "I don't think you can put a stat line or a number on what he means to this team and to hockey. In my mind, he's still No. 1."
Crosby's had a lot of time to think about the impending milestone. He's been on the verge of tying or breaking it for some time now, with just one assist in his last four games before Sunday.
Crosby scored the Penguins' first goal in the win, redirecting a shot pass from Erik Karlsson that hit Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes and deflected in:
The record-setting goal came just shy of five minutes later on the power play. Crosby took a shot from the left circle that hit Bryan Rust in the shin and popped out into the slot, and Rickard Rakell put in the rebound:
It wasn't the prettiest of plays to set the record. It wasn't a perfect feed to one of his longtime teammates, or a game-changing goal from him. But for Crosby, he thought it "worked out well" -- his two most frequent linemates on this roster factored in, and it ended up being a pretty big goal in the context of the game, helping to kick off a start that eventually ended in a shootout win and snapped an eight-game skid.
"It's mixed emotions," Crosby said of the feeling when he got that assist. "I guess that number has been kind of hanging around. The hockey gods made me earn it, I feel, the last few games. But just to get the win, to get a win in a shootout, it all kind of lined up well tonight."
The Penguins' bench emptied in celebration after the goal with a loud ovation from the crowd. And at the next TV timeout, the Penguins aired a tribute video for the moment that had some of Crosby's career highlights, but also some clips from early in his career where we heard about external expectations for Crosby's career at the time, but also Lemieux predicting that Crosby would become "a great one."
It was almost hard to hear the video in the arena from the deafening cheers of the crowd. But the building turned dead-silent at the end, when a pre-recorded message from Lemieux appeared on the screen.
"Hey, Sid. Congratulations on passing me with 1,724 points. I knew when we played together in 2005 that you were going to be a very special player and accomplish a lot of great things in your career. Here we are 20 years later, and you are now one of the best to ever play the game. You've been a great ambassador for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the National Hockey League and the hockey world. I would just like to wish you the best the rest of the way, and again, congratulations. Well done, my friend."
Crosby didn't seem to want to watch the initial video too closely -- they were, of course, in the middle of a game and it was pretty emotional, as evidenced by his parents Troy and Trina tearing up in the stands. But when Crosby heard Lemieux's voice start, his eyes were glued to the screen along with the eyes of the 17,695 in attendance.
"You're trying to stay in the game, but also, just try to enjoy the moment too," Crosby said. "So it's hard to balance that sometimes, especially as you get older, you tend to look at things a little bit differently. And seeing the crowd go quiet when Mario's message came on, that was pretty special. And if you don't understand the impact he's had here and you were here tonight, I think you understand a little bit better now, given just how quiet it got. If there was any example of respect, it was that."
Dan Muse took it all in -- the reaction from the players, the roar of the crowd, the awe from everyone when Lemieux's words aired through PPG Paints Arena -- and realized "you're watching history. You're seeing it firsthand."
"For everybody that was here today, everybody involved, it was incredible," Muse continued. "Sid is such a humble person, but you know how special of a moment that has to be. And I think back, even conversations that I had with him getting to know him, you see how much pride he has in this organization and the history of this organization, and what's been accomplished here. With the legends that have come through here, and now for him to break that record, it's nothing short of incredible."
Crosby's not just a student of history -- that's his life. He grew up idolizing Lemieux. Lemieux was his mentor during his early months as a Penguin. Even as Crosby became established in the league, he still lived with Lemieux for years.
"You grow up watching him," Crosby said. "But you never expect that you're going to make the NHL, let alone play with him. I had the opportunity to play with him, live with him, learn from him. And the impact that he's had here on this team, on and off the ice, the impact that he's had on hockey in general, it's pretty amazing. There's real appreciation."
Crosby has set a lot of cool records or hit new milestones in recent years, ones he often downplays by calling it a "nice number." But this record means a lot to Crosby, because of that way he's now linked to Lemieux forever.
In typical Crosby fashion, though, what he really cared a lot about tonight was the end result. The Canadiens ultimately forced overtime after Noel Acciari's goal to give the Penguins a lead, and the Penguins came through with a massive shootout win to snap their eight-game losing streak and end their long-standing shootout woes. Contributing to the win made the moment that much more special.
"It's so much more enjoyable when you get the win," Crosby said. "The way things have been going, that's been my focus -- trying to play well, win hockey games, let the points take care of themselves. It can work out a lot of different ways -- maybe not at home, maybe in a loss -- and the fact that it came together here tonight, we got a big, big win, it adds to it."
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