Sidney Crosby’s first-period goal against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday secured the 20th point-per-game season for the Pittsburgh Penguins captain, breaking a tie with Wayne Gretzky.
The goal also clinched Crosby’s 14th 80-point season since entering the NHL during the 2005-06 season, putting him three behind Gretzky for that record.
Because Crosby missed two games this season due to injury, the maximum number of games he can play this season is 80.
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Among all active NHL players, Crosby is ninth in points with 1,676 and his goal was the 26th of the season and the 618th of his career.
The 37-year-old Crosby is one of 11 players in league history to play with one franchise for at least 20 seasons and his 1,676 points are the fourth-most ever with one team in NHL history.
“I’m running out of words to try to describe Sid’s legacy that he’s built here,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said via NHL.com this week. “What I will say with respect to just his consistency of play, I think it directly correlates with his passion to the game, his drive to be the best and then his willingness to put the work in to do so. I think that combination of those three things is unique.
“I haven’t been around too many guys that have those three characteristics associated with their respective games. When you add his elite talent and just his capability with his work ethic and his willingness to put the time in to hone his craft, so to speak, I think that’s what’s allowed him to sustain the level of play that he’s been able to do for virtually two decades now.”
Among all active NHL players, Sidney Crosby is ninth in points with 1,676 and his goal was the 26th of the season and the 618th of his career. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Bill Wippert via Getty Images)
Following Crosby and Gretzky for most point-per-game NHL seasons is Gordie Howe (17) and a number of players with 15, including Crosby’s teammate Evgeni Malkin and Penguins great Mario Lemieux.
The milestone is one more that Crosby, a future Hall of Famer, has achieved this season. Earlier this month he reached the 1,050-assist mark, moving him into the top 10 on the NHL’s all-time assists list, one ahead of Howe.
In the first two months of the 2024-25 season, Crosby, a three-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time league MVP, became the 10th player in NHL history to reach the 1,600-point mark and scored his 600th career goal.
