PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby will take the help. Make that the helper.
But it was a victory, not staking claim to another of Mario Lemieux’s franchise records, that mattered most to Crosby on Sunday night.
Thanks in no small part to his historic assist early in the second period, Crosby’s Penguins downed the New York Islanders 3-2 at PPG Paints Arena. This victory doesn’t undo a loss to the Islanders in New York on Saturday night, but it does allow the Penguins to finish the calendar year with momentum.
The Penguins are 10-4-1 dating to Thanksgiving Eve when they sat at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Their winning ways have reinserted the Penguins into the Stanley Cup playoffs picture, and they’ll wrap up 2024 against the Red Wings, tied for last in the Eastern Conference, in Detroit on Tuesday night.
Crosby’s top priority is returning his Penguins to the postseason after a two-year absence. He’s driven to win more than collect individual accolades.
Still, it’s momentous when a Penguin does one better than Lemieux at anything. Crosby has made a career of doing exactly that.
“Honestly, I don’t think about it a whole lot,” Crosby said on Sunday night. “I appreciate those moments probably more and more. But so far as looking at the lists and all that, it’s not something I think about.
“I have a lot of appreciation for what the guys have done — especially Mario, what he means to the city, the organization. But all the guys who have played prior to me, it’s really nice to be part of that company.”
SIDNEY STANDS ALONE!
Congratulations on becoming the Penguins’ all-time assist leader, Captain 👏 pic.twitter.com/TLRYFq70hH
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 29, 2024
Crosby joked on Sunday night that he needed “what, like, 500 more games” than Lemieux to establish a Penguins record for assists. Not quite that many, but point taken. Lemieux’s talent is perhaps unmatched. The same may be true of Crosby’s doggedness.
The Penguins have retired only three numbers. Lemieux’s 66 is one.
There is only one statue of a hockey player in Pittsburgh. It’s of Lemieux.
Crosby’s No. 87 will one day hang from the rafters wherever the Penguins play their home games. At the outdoor plaza where Lemieux’s statue stands, a spot is reserved for one to honor Crosby.
They are forever linked, with Crosby having succeeded Lemieux as Penguins captain a couple of seasons after playing alongside him. Yet they are not equals, even if Crosby has inched closer to Lemieux in terms of adoration in Pittsburgh than any reasonable person would have thought possible.
Unless he leads a group to buy the Penguins out of a third bankruptcy and becomes a player-owner after retiring for three-plus seasons, Crosby will never fully skate out of Lemieux’s Paul Bunyan-like shadow. However, Crosby is casting a wide shadow of his own for the Penguins — so large that supplanting Lemieux as the Penguins’ assists leader long ago seemed a foregone conclusion.
Lemieux predicted Crosby would break each of his franchise records a few days after Crosby’s first assist — a primary helper on a Mark Recchi power-play goal against the Devils in New Jersey on Oct. 5, 2005.
As if deemed serendipitous by the hockey gods, Crosby’s first and record assists for the Penguins were both the primary on a goal scored by a player wearing the No. 8.
All these years later — seasons that delivered three Cup wins and an NHL Awards haul, but also a larger chunk of his prime wiped out because of injuries — Crosby’s 1,034th assist also came on a power play. On this one, he won a puck battle behind the net and quickly backhanded a pass to Michael Bunting, whose sure shot was never in danger of being denied by the Islanders’ Marcus Hogberg.
Assist 1,034… a work of art. pic.twitter.com/on0qQTWiFp
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 30, 2024
Coach Mike Sullivan deadpanned “I think so” when pressed about whether he had seen similar setups by Crosby.
“He’s one of the best players ever to play on his backhand,” Sullivan said. “He makes so many plays on his backhand. He’s just so creative.”
It looked as though many among a holiday crowd began to stand in anticipation as the puck went from Crosby to Bunting. Few fans are more adept at celebrating individual greatness as those of the Penguins, one of only three non-Original Six franchises with four 1,000-point scorers — not to mention 15 individual scoring champions.
Penguins assist leaders
|
Player
|
Assists
|
Games
|
|---|---|---|
|
1,034 |
1,310 |
|
|
1,033 |
915 |
|
|
821 |
1,182 |
|
|
640 |
806 |
|
|
585 |
1,121 |
In Pittsburgh, they know when something special is about to happen. They know because they’ve witnessed Lemieux and Crosby regularly make the extraordinary look ordinary. The two greatest players in franchise history have captivated generations in succession while rewriting the record books in Pittsburgh.
So when Bunting’s shot ended up behind Hogberg at 1:36 of the second period on Sunday night, fans recognized the significance of the moment. The same was true of those on the ice with Crosby, including Evgeni Malkin, who appeared to enjoy the milestone more than his close friend.
Crosby often comes off as nonplussed after moving up the NHL scoring charts. The times when he’s topped something Lemieux accomplished for the Penguins have garnered less muted reactions, but Crosby has typically resisted getting caught up in a moment of his own.
There are exceptions. He teared up during the pandemic during a pregame ceremony honoring his 1,000th game. There were no waterworks Sunday night, though a loud ovation that followed public address announcer Ryan Mill noting the achievement did not go unnoticed by Crosby.
“Definitely appreciate it,” Crosby said. “I’ve had some special moments here at home over the years. To get that kind of reception … it means a lot.”
Sid gets a standing ovation from the Penguins faithful as they announce his record-breaking assist 🍎👏 pic.twitter.com/dD1cwf7AbA
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 29, 2024
The moment merited a statement from Lemieux, who chimes in on matters about as often as it snows in South Florida.
“I want to congratulate Sid on setting the team’s assist record,” Lemieux said in a post on the Penguins’ social media accounts. “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.”
Crosby signed a two-year extension with the Penguins in September, only a few days before training camp opened. He has vowed to play only for the Penguins, and his contract should allow him to pass Lemieux’s marks for goals (690) and points (1,723). After Sunday night, Crosby needs 89 goals and 88 points to become the Penguins’ all-time leader in each category.
Despite a slow start to this season, Crosby has been no stranger to milestone moments. He recorded his 1,600th point and 600th goal in home games.
Crosby’s pursuit of those marks has resulted in his parents, Troy and Trina, again becoming regulars at Penguins games. They were here for the assist record, and Crosby said he would give the puck to his father, who was a mainstay in Pittsburgh in his son’s early seasons. Crosby, of course, spent those seasons living in Lemieux’s guest house.
The Kid who became The Man for a generation of hockey fans in and outside of Pittsburgh, Crosby’s intensity contrasts with Lemieux’s laissez-faire personality. Eddie Johnston, who drafted and coached Lemieux (and played with Bobby Orr), said Crosby “of course is right there with those guys.”
“Mario, Orr, (Wayne) Gretzky, (Jean) Béliveau, and Sid,” Johnston said. “I don’t care what order if you’re talking about the greatest players, boy, it’s those five guys.
“What’s special here in Pittsburgh is Mario and Sid are Penguins. They’re ours.”
(Photo: Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)
