Sidney Crosby Stays On Pace For An All-Time Finish
Will Sidney Crosby chase down the Pittsburgh Penguins all-time scoring record?
There aren't many achievements that Sidney Crosby has yet to accomplish in his historic 18-year NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, a pair of records would solidify Crosby's place on hockey's Mount Rushmore, and he's well on his way to catching it.
Finishing with the Penguins' all-time scoring record and top-five in NHL history is not something Crosby will admit to striving for. At least not before the desire to win a fourth Stanley Cup, but his strong season in 2022-23 has him slightly ahead of schedule to catch a pair of Penguins greats.
Crosby played in all 82 regular season games for the first time since the 2017-18 season and, like clockwork, registered over a point per game for the 18th straight season. His 93 points are three above what he needed to hit the benchmark we created at Inside The Penguins before the season.
He created much-needed breathing room between himself and career-long rival Alex Ovechkin, separating himself by 17 points by the end of the year.
According to our projection, next season will be the toughest for Crosby to keep pace as he'll need another 90-point campaign to stay on track. Fortunately, his ability to stay healthy through the season will allow him to spend the entire summer gearing up for next year without worrying about rehabbing any major ailments. His distaste for missing the playoffs for the first time since he was 18 could provide an effective motivator.
Crosby will enter the 2023-24 season at 15th on the NHL's all-time scoring list and within 31 points of former two former Penguins, Paul Coffey, and Mark Recchi. He still trails Mario Lemieux by 221 points, but if Crosby continues to play at or near this level, he could pass Lemieux before the end of the 2025-26 season.
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