Sidney Crosby hit two big milestones on Monday against the New York Islanders.
It was a huge night for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.
They played their biggest game of the season against the New York Islanders and dismantled them handily, 8-3. They were down 3-1 at one point in the second period and roared back to score seven unanswered goals and take two crucial points in the standings.
The Penguins now have 90 points and are in sole position of second place in the Metropolitan Division heading into Tuesday's game against the Detroit Red Wings.
Sidney Crosby returned from his brief one-game absence, and his impact was felt right away. Early in the first period, he hit the post on a breakaway and nearly scored a couple of shifts later when his line was pressuring in the offensive zone.
He factored in on two goals, giving him 514 multi-point games for his career. His 514 multi-point games rank third in NHL history, behind Jaromir Jagr (540) and Wayne Gretzky (824). Crosby was tied with Mark Messier and Marcel Dionne with 513 multi-point games before breaking it.
Those two assists also give Crosby 1,100 assists for his career, making him the eighth player in NHL history to accomplish that feat. He only needed 1,414 games to do it.
Crosby did all of this against a team that he loves tormenting. Those two assists give him 142 points against the Islanders, and he has more points against them than any other team, including the Philadelphia Flyers. He has 139 career points against the Flyers.
He's nine assists away from tying Joe Thornton for seventh on the all-time assists list. There's a very good chance he'll do that over the next couple of weeks before the regular season ends.
Crosby could potentially hit another milestone on Tuesday against the Red Wings. He's currently eighth all-time in NHL history with 1,753 points and is two points away from tying Steve Yzerman for seventh.
It would be something else to see him tie/pass Yzerman on the all-time points list when his Wings are in town. Crosby also idolized Yzerman growing up, so it would be even sweeter.
Crosby would then set his sights on Marcel Dionne, who is sixth on the NHL's all-time points list with 1,771. If he doesn't pass Dionne by the end of this season, he certainly will during the beginning of the 2026-27 season.
Crosby currently has 66 points in 62 games and needs four more to hit at least 70 points for the fifth-straight season. He's been a model of consistency since coming into the NHL during the 2005-06 season, and that's not changing.
He's trying to help the Penguins return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season, when they lost to the New York Rangers in seven games. This has been a season that nobody saw coming from the Penguins, and now, they're likely only a few more wins away from an improbable playoff berth.
After Tuesday's game against the Red Wings, the Penguins will head south to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning for the third and final time this season on Thursday. The two teams have split the first two games of the season series.
After that, they'll play the Florida Panthers at home on Saturday and Sunday. It's rare to play the same team at home two days in a row, but that's how the schedule shook out this season. The Penguins beat the Panthers in Sunrise 5-3 back on Oct. 23.
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