It was only a matter of time but Sidney Crosby made it official on Monday, April 1. And no, it’s not an April Fool’s joke.
By scoring his 82nd point this season (37 goals, 45 assists) in the game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers played on the first day of the month, Crosby put together his 19th consecutive season averaging at least one point per game.
Crosby is now tied, per Pittsburgh’s PR department, with the greatest hockey player of all time, Wayne Gretzky, who also did it throughout his first 19 NHL seasons.
Players with 19-consecutive point-per-game seasons in NHL history:
•Wayne Gretzky
•Sidney Crosby
That’s it. That’s the list.
Crosby assisted Bryan Rust just 18 seconds into the opening frame for this first point on the day and 80th this year. He added a goal for his 81st a little over 10 minutes later, putting Pittsburgh up 2-0, and he tallied his 82nd point with an empty-net goal just 45 seconds before the final horn sounded.
The Penguins beat the NHL-best Rangers 5-2 in quite a surprising result considering Pittsburgh is on the outside of the playoffs looking in, and a few New York players were visibly upset and frustrated after the game.
“We’re pissed off about this one,” Rangers’ defenseman Ryan Lindgren told reporters during the postgame media availability on April 1.
Sidney Crosby Building His Legacy as the Greatest Penguin Ever
Although there are still eight games left in Pittsburgh’s schedule, Crosby has already reached the minimum figure needed to average a point per game this campaign, which spans 82 games through the regular season.
Following Monday’s record-tying win against New York, Crosby’s averaging 1.11 points per game in 2024. Even if he doesn’t score any more points from now on, he will still finish with a perfect 1.00 points-per-game average assuming he plays in all 82 Penguins games.
Crosby on if he plans to respond to Wayne Gretzky or his parents first about his milestone: “Uh, I don’t know [laughs]. That’s putting a lot of pressure on me there. Whoever texted first, maybe?… Any time you can be in that company, it’s pretty cool.”
“Obviously something I didn’t want to talk about. I knew it was getting closer,” Crosby told reporters in his postgame press conference on April 1 when asked about matching Gretzky’s record. “Any time you can be in that company, it’s pretty cool.”
Bryan Rust, who opened the score for Pittsburgh, had some thoughts to share with reporters about Crosby’s record.
“He’s an unbelievable hockey player, an unbelievable person, Rust said, per Michelle Crechiolo of NHL.com. “Puts in the work each and every day.
“You can see why he’s been so good for so long.”
Coach Sullivan on Crosby’s milestone: “It doesn’t surprise me. All of these milestones that he’s reaching at this point are just more evidence that he’s one of the greatest players of all time – not just his generation. He’s in elite company in all these categories.”
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan wasn’t shocked by Crosby’s achievement in the slightest, which makes sense considering Pittsburgh’s captain’s impressive career.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Mike Sullivan told reporters after the game. “All of these milestones that he’s reaching at this point are just more evidence that he’s one of the greatest players of all time.”
Believe It Or Not, There Is Much More to Come From Sidney Crosby
Even though it feels impossible to expand it, Crosby’s list of achievements and accolades shouldn’t stop growing any time soon. Yes, he’s already 36 years old and he will turn 37 next August, but he’s under contract for one more season after this one and has many milestones within arm’s reach.
Crosby only needs 3 more assists to reach 1,000 dimes through his career with eight games left for him to get there this season. Once he does that, he will become just the 14th player in NHL history to reach that figure.
The Penguins captain only needs 3 more goals to reach 40 in 2024. If he gets there, this season will be his third career-wide reaching that mark after doing so in 2010 and 2017, which speaks volumes of his longevity and steady greatness.
If he adds 13 more goals to his career tally of 587 before he retires, Crosby will have scored 600 goals. And if he gets 16 more points this year, through the final eight games of the regular season, he will reach 1,600.
Add the fact that Crosby was the No. 1 pick of the 2005 NHL draft, that he has won three Stanley Cup titles with Pittsburgh, and that he’s added a few individual accolades (including two Hart Memorial Trophy awards as the MVP of the league) and there is no debate Crosby has already cemented a legacy and put together a resume not many (if any) can match in the history of the sport.
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Penguins’ Crosby Matches Gretzky’s Ludicrous 19-Season Record