Crosby Becomes First Player to Record a 30-Goal Season at Ages 18 and 35

We know how lucky we are in Pittsburgh to have Sidney Crosby as captain of the Penguins. But on Wednesday in Colorado, he gave us - and the entire hockey world - a nice reminder that he is really good at hockey.

Early in the second period, Crosby took a pass from Jake Guentzel … entered the zone … deked around Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard … and buried his famous backhand - with head coach Mike Sullivan calling it "nasty" - into the far corner of the net to open the scoring in Pittsburgh's 5-2 victory.
"Just had some open ice, and tried to be aggressive. Basically, a lot of times, that gets poked or it doesn't quite go that way. So just happy to see it go in," Crosby said.

With the highlight-reel tally, Crosby became the first player in NHL history to record a 30-goal season at age 18, and again at 35.
"It means I've been in the league for a while," he said with a laugh. "That's been the thing, I think, that's driven me since I got in the league. Your first year, you want to prove that you belong. Even at 35, I still think you want to prove that you belong, because it is a younger league.
"You just want to continue to make sure that your game is where it needs to be. That's what I've tried to do. Been fortunate enough to play with some pretty good players in that span, so I think that goes a long way, too."
Crosby has now hit the 30-goal plateau for the 11th time in his career, tying Mario Lemieux for the most in Penguins history - and becoming just the 10th player in NHL history to record that many with one team.
"I think the most important thing for me is just try to be consistent," said Crosby,
voted the NHLPA's 'Most Complete Player' by his peers
. "If that reflects that, great, but I just love to compete and want to be as consistent as possible. So, that's probably the most important thing."
Ultimately, tonight's win was an impressive team effort. Jeff Carter tallied twice, with the veteran returning to the goal column for the first time since Feb. 26. Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust also scored, while Tristan Jarry's teammates praised the goaltender's performance as he made 28 saves.
But truly, Crosby set the tone as the Penguins beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions, who entered the game on a six-game win streak. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh entered the game on a four-game losing streak and in the third Wild Card spot, trailing Florida and the Islanders.
They have now moved one point ahead of the Panthers, who also have 71 games played, and two behind New York, who's played 72.

"He just does so much for our group in so many ways, both on the ice and off the ice, on both sides of the puck," Sullivan said. "In every situation that arises on the ice, for the most part, he's our go-to guy. That's just what he's done for this organization for however many years he's been here."
As if Crosby wasn't motivated enough by Pittsburgh's situation as they battle to make the playoffs, he always gets up for these matchups against his fellow Cole Harbour native, friend and training partner, Nathan MacKinnon.
After yesterday's practice in Denver, Crosby praised the level MacKinnon has been at, saying, "to compete against him, it's always a big challenge - I think it's probably even bigger, especially the way he's playing right now."
And the 27-year-old superstar came out flying, with one Grade-A scoring chance early on. But the Penguins were able to contain him in what ended up being a pretty evenly-matched first period, before Crosby took over and got Pittsburgh on the board 1:11 into the second.
Many dubbed it a "vintage" goal, though it's pretty typical of Crosby - who doesn't care how it's described.
"Yeah, I mean, as long as it goes in, they can call whatever they want," he said with a grin. "That's the main thing. We wanted to get a good start. They had some really good pressure. Hit a crossbar and had some chances, Jars made some saves. So it's good to get that first one, and build off it."