Crosby gets 1,000th assist, leads Penguins into playoff position

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby might not win the Hart Trophy, which goes to the player voted most valuable to his team. But how valuable has he been to the Pittsburgh Penguins this season?

The two-time Hart winner continues to add to his legacy, making history and pushing the Penguins toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He had three points (one goal, two assists) in a 6-5 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

When he set up defenseman Erik Karlsson for the winning goal at 1:40 of OT, the 36-year-old center recorded his 1,000th NHL assist, took sole possession of 10th place on the NHL all-time scoring list with his 1,591st point and helped move Pittsburgh into the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, all in one moment.

“He’s a special player but even a more special person,” linemate Bryan Rust said. “He’s awesome. He’s leading this team right now. I think we’re all just kind of getting in line behind him and trying to do everything we can.”

Not long ago, the Penguins looked like they would miss the playoffs for the second straight season. They were 10 points out of a playoff spot through the games of March 4. They traded forward Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7, one day before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline.

But now they’re on a 10-game point streak (7-0-3) since March 24. Crosby, their captain, leads the NHL in scoring in that span with 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists). He leads the Penguins in goals (41), assists (48) and points (89) this season.

“I don’t think there’s been a different Sid the last 10 games,” forward Reilly Smith said. “He’s been the best player on our team the entire season. We’ve got to help him out a little bit more.”

Smith laughed.

“He can’t be on the ice for every goal.”

Crosby made an incredible play to help Pittsburgh take a 1-0 lead Thursday, banking the puck off the back of the net to elude Red Wings center Dylan Larkin. He sent a pass from below the goal line to the right wing. Rust fired a shot from a sharp angle, and forward Drew O'Connor scored on a rebound at 2:40 of the first period.

Then Crosby put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2, driving to the left post and redirecting a pass from Rust at 7:58 of the second. That was his 1,590th point, tying him with Phil Esposito for 10th in NHL history.

Finally, Crosby outmuscled Red Wings forward J.T. Compher at the left side of the net to control a rebound below the goal line. He backhanded a pass from low in the left circle into the high slot for Karlsson, who fired a slap shot to score the winning goal. That marked two milestones and one huge win.

Crosby is the 14th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 assists and the seventh fastest. He needed 1,269 games. Only Wayne Gretzky (645), Mario Lemieux (856), Paul Coffey (1,105), Adam Oates (1,174), Ron Francis (1,235) and Marcel Dionne (1,259) needed fewer.

Next on the all-time scoring list is Joe Sakic (1,641) points. After that? Lemieux (1,723).

“It’s cool,” Crosby said. “I couldn’t have told you that. I haven’t looked that closely at it. But to be in that company with all those players you mentioned, yeah, that means a lot. I grew up watching those players that you named. Obviously, a big fan of the game and the history, so yeah, it’s something that I’m honored to be a part of that.”

What matters most to Crosby right now is winning, getting back to the playoffs. You could see it when Crosby tackled Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot on Thursday. Crosby went off for holding and Chiarot for roughing at the 10-minute mark of the second period.

“He’s fired up to lead this team,” Rust said. “You can see he’s very emotionally invested. He’s in there playing his heart out, and I think everybody in here has taken notice of that, and I think we’re all trying to, I guess, do the same.”

Mike Sullivan has been taking questions about Crosby’s accomplishments since he became coach of the Penguins in 2015-16. He said he never tires of it, even if he struggles to find new words.

“The milestones that he’s achieving now, they’re self-explanatory,” Sullivan said. “It puts him in just elite company of the greatest players of all time. I don’t know what else to say. His body of work is so impressive.

“For me, the thing that I admire the most about him is just how he carries himself with such humility and integrity. He just represents everything that’s right about hockey. We’re lucky to have him in Pittsburgh. He represents our team in so many ways, and he plays his best when the stakes are high.

“Like, all of the all-time greats that they talk about that have played the game, he is one of those guys. This milestone tonight is just more evidence of that.”