Sidney Crosby joined two more exclusive clubs in his NHL career after helping the Pittsburgh Penguins back into a playoff position.
Sidney Crosby celebrates his goal against the Detroit Red Wings with teammates on April 11.Sidney Crosby's been a major part of the Pittsburgh Penguins' improbable comeback this season.
And in what was a tight battle against the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Crosby had a grand performance.
With a goal and two assists on Thursday night, the 36-year-old takes sole possession of 10th place in the NHL's top 10 all-time scorers list, with 1,591. He passes Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, a two-time Hart Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion who had 1,590 points in 1,282 games. Crosby equalled and passed his points total in 13 fewer games.
Crosby is also just the 14th player in NHL history to record 1,000 career assists. The Cole Harbour, N.S., native required the seventh-fewest games to get there, trailing Wayne Gretzky, Lemieux, Paul Coffey, Adam Oates, Ron Francis and Marcel Dionne.
His milestone assist came in overtime when the Penguins needed it most.
Rickard Rakell crashed the net and tried to score up high, but Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon raised his shoulder to block the shot. Crosby then skated in to win a puck battle before feeding defenseman Erik Karlsson with a backhand pass in the high slot. Karlsson wired a slapshot that beat Lyon blocker-side to end the game.
The Penguins needed that extra point to move into the second wild-card spot, taking that opportunity away from the Red Wings. Pittsburgh now has 86 points in 79 games, while the Red Wings are tied in points (85) and games played (79) with the Washington Capitals. The Philadelphia Flyers won their game against the New York Rangers to also reach 85 points, but they've played an extra match.
"This is fun," Crosby told reporters post-game. "This is a fun time of year and some big games, so obviously happy to be in the top 10, but like you said, just getting a big two points and still being in it here is a lot of fun, too."
Out of the NHL's top 10 point-getters, Crosby's played the second-fewest games, at 1,269. Only former Penguins teammate Mario Lemieux has played fewer, with 1,723 points in 915 games.
Since the Penguins captain will need 50 points to tie Joe Sakic for ninth place all-time, the focus remains on making the playoffs after it looked like they'd have a better shot at winning the draft lottery not that long ago.
On March 26, moneypuck.com had the Penguins at a 1.4-percent chance to make the playoffs as they sat nine points out. After Thursday's win, they now have a 60.5-percent chance. But their final three games come against teams currently in a playoff position: the Boston Bruins on Saturday, Nashville Predators on Monday and the New York Islanders on Wednesday.
With these massive milestones out of the way, the next week will determine whether Crosby will get to add on to his playoff totals or miss the post-season for a second straight year.