Crosby hits 1,500 points, Penguins top Red Wings, keep pace in wild card

DETROIT --Sidney Crosby became the 15th player in NHL history to reach 1,500 points, and the Pittsburgh Penguins kept pace in the Eastern Conference wild card race with a 5-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

Crosby had two goals and an assist. He has 550 goals and 950 assists in 1,189 games in 18 seasons with the Penguins.
"This is a team sport -- that's what we signed up for and that's why we all love the game," Crosby said. "There are some milestones that have made me reflect a little more on the achievement. I'm obviously happy to be in that company, but my mentality has always been to be my best and see where that puts me.
"I'm trying to contribute to winning hockey games. That's all I care about."
Crosby, who is Penguins captain, became the sixth fastest player in NHL history to reach the mark, trailing Wayne Gretzky (620 games), Mario Lemieux (747), Marcel Dionne (1,078), Jaromir Jagr (1,165) and Phil Esposito (1,166). Crosby did it in 11 fewer games than Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman (1,199).
"I think that milestone and the company he is in, speaking to the impact he's had on the game," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's not only one of the greatest players of his generation, he's one of the greatest players of all-time."

Alex Nylander
, Danton Heinen and Evgeni Malkin scored, and Tristan Jarry made 19 saves for the Penguins (40-30-10), who won their second straight after alternating wins and losses for the previous eight games.
"I thought we built off our win in Minnesota (a 4-1 win against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday) and played a really good defensive game," Sullivan said. "We had numbers back and we didn't give them too many odd-man rushes, but we weren't just letting them come at us; We're trying to play a smart game, not a safe game."
Pittsburgh remained one point back of the Florida Panthers and New York Islanders for the the first wild card into the playoffs from the East. Florida defeated the Washington Capitals 4-2 and New York defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 later in the day.
Pius Suter scored, and Ville Husso made 23 saves for the Red Wings (35-34-10), who lost their second straight and are 7-13-2 in their past 22 games. Detroit is eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
"I like this type of game because we are going up against a team that is fighting for their playoff lives," Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. "They played a very good game and we had flashes of playing well."

Nylander finished off a give-and-go with Mikael Granlund to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 9:25 of the first period with his first goal of the season.
Crosby, who had gone seven games without scoring a goal, stripped Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman in front of his own net and beat Husso with a backhand to make it 2-0 at 19:57.
Heinen batted in a rebound of Crosby's shot to make it 3-0 at 11:16 of the second period, but Suter finished off a 3-on-2 break to pull Detroit within 3-1 at 11:58.
Crosby reached his milestone with a power-play goal at 3:01 of the third, converting a wrist shot through traffic from the top of the left face-off circle to put the Penguins up 4-1.
Crosby's play impressed coaches on each side of the ice.
"After his second goal, (assistant coach) Alex Tanguay looked over and said, 'Sid really wants to make the playoffs,'" Lalonde said. "Alex played 1,100 games in this league, so he's seen a lot of great players."
Malkin made it 5-1 at 13:00, giving him 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 27 games against Detroit.
NOTES: Malkin's 1.52 points per game against the Red Wings is the most by any active player (minimum 10 games). … With an assist on Crosby's second goal, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang needs one point to join Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo as the only active defensemen with 10 40-point seasons. … Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond assisted on Suter's goal, extending his point streak to four games (six points; one goal, five assists).