2025 is about to end, so let's look at the five best on-ice moments for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
2025 is set to come to an end tonight, and even though the Pittsburgh Penguins didn't have any playoff success again this year, there were still plenty of extraordinary on-ice moments.
It's always special when Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are on the ice together, considering how much that trio has accomplished over the last 20 seasons.
With all of that in mind, let's look at the five best Penguins' on-ice moments from this year.
Alex Nedeljkovic scores
Tristan Jarry made Penguins history by becoming the first goaltender to ever score for the franchise in 2023, and Alex Nedeljkovic became the second back on Jan. 17.
The Penguins were beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 when Nedeljkovic played the puck behind the net and launched it all the way down the ice for his first goal. His teammates immediately mobbed him after leaping into the bench.
Nedeljkovic also recorded an assist in this game, becoming the first goaltender in NHL history to record a goal and an assist in the same game.
The kids get their first NHL goals
The Penguins have gotten strong contributions from their kids throughout the year, making them more fun to watch.
Rutger McGroarty scored his first NHL goal on Apr. 3 against the St. Louis Blues after he was called back up from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. McGroarty tied the game with 23.5 seconds left in the third with a great play in front of the net. Fellow rookie Ville Koivunen got the primary assist on the goal, which sent the game to overtime.
Harrison Brunicke notched his first NHL goal against the New York Islanders on Oct. 9. He was coming down the middle in the offensive zone and buried a shot past Ilya Sorokin after Filip Hallander dished him the puck.
Ben Kindel got his first NHL goal on Oct. 11 against the New York Rangers with a blistering shot past goaltender Igor Shesterkin. He has gone on to score seven more goals since then and has been fantastic in his first NHL season.
Koivunen had been snakebitten to start his NHL career before finally scoring his first goal on Dec. 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He took a feed from Kris Letang and buried the puck into the back of the net.
Letang notches his 600th assist
Letang hit a significant milestone on Oct. 21 against the Vancouver Canucks. In the Penguins' 5-1 win, which raised their record to 5-2-0 at the time, Letang notched his 600th assist.
He's now the fourth active defenseman with 600 assists, joining Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, and Victor Hedman. Letang is also the 20th defenseman in NHL history to accomplish this feat.
Letang is getting closer to another milestone: his 800th point. He's only nine points away from hitting it, and once he does, he will be the 20th defenseman ever to do it.
Crosby passes Gretzky for PPG record
Alex Ovechkin wasn't the only one trying to break a Wayne Gretzky record this year. Crosby was tied with Gretzky for 19-point-per-game seasons and broke his record on Mar. 27 against the Sabres when he notched his 80th point.
That point ensured that he would have his 20th point-per-game season in his 20th NHL season. He finished the season with 33 goals and 91 points in 80 games.
He already has 21 goals and 40 points in 38 games this season and will notch his 21st point-per-game season if he keeps producing at this pace.
Penguins Trade Tomasino To Flyers For Zamula
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers made a trade on Wednesday.
Crosby passes Lemieux in points
This had been slated to happen at some point this season, and Crosby finally did it on Dec. 21 against the Montreal Canadiens, his childhood team. He needed one point to tie Lemieux's franchise record in points and two to pass him, and accomplished both feats in the first period.
His goal tied the record before his assist on Rickard Rakell's goal broke it, leading to his teammates mobbing him on the ice. Lemieux even had a beautiful message for Crosby after the latter broke his record.
That assist got him to 1,724 points, good for eighth in NHL history. He's now up to 1,727 points and is 29 points away from passing Steve Yzerman for seventh on the all-time points list. He should be able to easily hit that mark in the second half of the 2025-26 season, assuming he stays healthy.
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