Sidney Crosby is officially the Penguins' all-time assists leader. For real this time.

After having an assist taken away from him in Saturday's loss to the Islanders, the captain surpassed Mario Lemieux for sole possession atop the franchise's leaderboard by contributing a helper -- the 1,034th of his career -- with this backhand feed on a power-play goal by Michael Bunting in the second period of Sunday's 3-2 win at PPG Paints Arena: 

"They're not always like that, but as the years go on, I think you appreciate those kind of things a little bit more," said Crosby, who is now up to 40 points -- 10 goals, 30 assists -- through 38 games this season. "That's not why you play by any means, but to get it on a nice one and to go up in the game like that, at home, it's definitely nice." 

Bunting said he didn't have to call for the pass from Crosby that led to his 11th goal -- seventh on the power play -- of the season. It was a goal that made it 2-0 in favor of the Penguins in the second period.

"He's done it so many times," Bunting said. "He has eyes on the back of his head, and I think he knew I was there." 

Bunting and Crosby seemed to enjoy sharing this achievement with one another. Bunting gifted his stick to Crosby with the blade featuring an inscription that read, “To: Sid, you’re welcome.” 

It didn't seem like much of a surprise to Mike Sullivan that Crosby's milestone assist came on a backhand pass that was sent under the stick of Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock before finding the stick blade of a ready-to-shoot Bunting.

"He's one of the best players ever to play on his backhand. He makes so many plays on his backhand, he's just so creative," Sullivan said. "The accomplishment, the milestone that he's reached, it's just more evidence of an amazing career. He's just an elite player. I'm running out of adjectives for him, he's terrific."

Crosby, who received a standing ovation and acknowledged the crowd once the milestone was announced, now sits alone in 12th place on the all-time assists list. He is six assists away from tying Marcel Dionne for 11th and is 15 away from tying Gordie Howe for 10th.

"I appreciate those moments probably more and more, but as far as looking at the lists and thinking about that, it's not something I think about a whole lot," Crosby said. "I think I have a lot of appreciation for what the guys have done on that list, especially Mario and what he means to the city and the organization. I think all the guys who have played prior to me, it's really nice to be a part of that company." 

Oh, and the living legend that Crosby surpassed on this night? He had something to say about the milestone, too.

"I want to congratulate Sid on setting the team's assist record," Lemieux said in a statement released through the team. "He's an amazing player and we're so fortunate to have him in Pittsburgh. I look forward to even more great things from him."