Crosby reaches 1,600 NHL points for Penguins in game against Sabres

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby reached 1,600 NHL points with an assist for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday.

Crosby picked up a secondary assist at 11:01 of the first period on the power-play goal by Bryan Rust, who tapped in a rebound off a shot from Evgeni Malkin to reach the milestone. He later added a second assist as Malkin scored his 500th career goal at 3:26 of the third period.

The 37-year-old Penguins captain is the first NHL player to achieve the milestone since Jaromir Jagr had an assist for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 2-1 win at the Boston Bruins on Oct. 6, 2011. Crosby is the 10th skater in NHL history with 1,600 points, joining Wayne Gretzky (2,857), Jagr (1,921), Mark Messier (1,887), Gordie Howe (1,850), Ron Francis (1,798), Marcel Dionne (1,771), Steve Yzerman (1,755), Mario Lemieux (1,723) and Joe Sakic (1,641).

"I think it's just an honor to be part of that group," Crosby said, referring to the 1,600-point club. "To be honest, I don't think about it a whole lot. Hopefully there's a lot of time to reflect after the fact. But it's just a huge honor to be in that group of guys."

Crosby's 1,601 points (592 goals, 1,009 assists) in 1,277 games lead active players and ranks 10th in NHL history. The No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft signed a two-year, $17.4 million contract ($8.7 million average annual value) with the Penguins on Sept. 16, 2024, beginning with the 2025-26 season. At age 21, he became the youngest player to be captain of a Stanley Cup-winning team when Pittsburgh defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. Crosby helped the Penguins to the Cup in 2016 and '17 and in January 2017 was named to the 100 Greatest NHL Players.

On Dec. 29, 2022, Crosby earned recognition as an Officer of the Order of Canada "for being one of the greatest hockey players of all time and for supporting community service initiatives for youth." The Order of Canada is one of the country's highest honors that recognizes people across all sectors of society who have made extraordinary and sustained contributions.

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report