There was a seismic shift in the Pittsburgh Penguins record books last night. No longer is Mario Lemieux the all-time franchise leader in points.
Congratulations are in order to Sidney Crosby on breaking Mario Lemieux’s record for franchise points. It feels so weird to see anybody touch Mario’s career numbers, especially a career record involving the Penguins. It is an outrageously impressive achievement for Sid who entered the league with unrealistically high expectations.
For 20 seasons Sidney Crosby has exceeded those lofty expectations and he has done it again by passing Mario for this record.
Sid was able to break the record against his boyhood team, the Montreal Canadiens, on Sunday evening. Sid now has 1,724 points in his impeccable career.
He didn’t leave the home fans waiting long. The Penguins Captain tied the record eight minutes into the first period on a power play goal
There were less than five minutes of game action with both Mario and Sid tied for the franchise lead. An assist on the power play at the 12:40 mark of the first period launched Crosby to the top of a list that many people thought would never be reached.
As Josh Getzoff exclaimed, the Kid is now the King.
Appreciation for Mario
Sidney Crosby is someone who will always deflect and try to give others credit and a moment this big is no exception. Sid took time to talk about Mario and what he means to him, the Penguins, and the community.
Even though Mario wasn’t in the building his impact on the Pittsburgh community was in full force on Sunday night. While he expressed his words to Sidney Crosby, the Penguins faithful were silent with respect when he was speaking.
Sid put it perfectly
Here is a video that encapsulates the magic of Sid’s arrival and journey passing Mario
More celebrating
It has been a tough stretch of games for the Penguins. This was a much needed night for the team and the fans. It was a joyous and historical night worthy of celebration
Here is Sid showcasing the record breaking puck with his current linemates who were in on the goal
We couldn’t possibly have a moment like this for Sidney Crosby without an appearance from his legendary teammate and friend, Evgeni Malkin
Bob Grove statistics
One of my favorite things in the Penguins community is that hour before puck drop when Bob Grove starts posting his stats for the day and the game ahead.
Anytime there is a historical occasion like the one we had last night, his stats are a mandatory companion piece to the evening. Last night, was no exception. He had a plethora of Sidney Crosby facts and while I encourage you to follow him on social media, I am going to give you everything he posted from last night because it is worth more eyes seeing it. Here we go, it’s a lot.
When Mario recorded his 1,723rd and final NHL point on 12/16/05 against Buffalo, he joined Sid in picking up an assist on a goal by Ziggy Palffy in the third period of a 4-3 loss. Sid had 32 points at the time.
Mario passed Rick Kehoe to become Pens’ all-time leading scorer with assist on Chris Dahlquist’s goal @ Wpg in a 7-3 loss 1/20/89. Mario was alone holding the title of Pens’ all-time leading scorer for 13,484 days.
Sid has figured in on 39.6% of all Pens’ goals scored in games he is dressed (1,724 of 4,354). Mario figured in on 48.5% of all Pens’ goals scored in games he dressed (1,723 of 3,551).
The top 2 all-time scorers against the Flyers: Sid, 92 GP, 59-78-137 (1.49/game) Mario, 71 GP, 51-73-124 (1.75/game)
Sid & Mario combined on 8 goals:
10/27/05 v Atl, Mario (Jackman, Sid)
10/27/05 v Atl, Gonchar (Sid, Mario)
11/3/05 @ NYI, Sid (Gonchar, Mario)
11/3/05 @ NYI, Recchi (Sid, Mario)
11/3/05 @ NYI, Sid (Mario, Whitney)
11/19/05 @ Phil, Sid (Leclair, Mario)
12/3/05 v Calg, Sid (Tarnstrom, Mario)
12/16/05 v Buff, Palffy (Sid, Mario)
Sid has his most points against these teams:
NY Islanders (139)
Philadelphia (137)
NY Rangers (109)
New Jersey (97)
Washington (97)
Buffalo (86)
Toronto (76)
Boston (75)
Sid has his most points against these goaltenders:
Lundqvist (64)
Halak (37)
Brodeur (32)
Elliott (32)
Bobrovsky (30)
Miller (30)
Holtby (27)
Price (27)
Ward (27)
Sid points by period:
First (523)
Second (577)
Third (576)
Overtime (48)
Sid points breakdown:
Home (948)
Road (776)
Even Strength (1,111)
Power play (602)
Shorthanded (11)
Vs. Division (650)
Sid’s most assists on goals by:
Malkin, 142
Guentzel, 114
Kunitz, 81
Rust, 73
Letang, 62
Hornqvist, 43
Dupuis, 36
Rakell, 35
Kessel, 29
Gonchar, 25
Recchi, 24
Malone, 21
Sheary, 20
Most assists on Sid goals:
Malkin, 129
Letang, 126
Guentzel, 93
Kunitz, 58
Rust, 51
Gonchar, 40
Rakell, 32
Dupuis, 31
Hornqvist, 30
Kessel, 30
Karlsson, 28
Most points, reg season + playoffs:
Gretzky 3,237
Messier 2,181
Jagr 2,122
Howe 2,010
Francis 1,941
Yzerman 1,940
Crosby 1,925
Mario 1,895
Sakic 1,829
Most multi-point games:
Gretzky 824
Jagr 540
Dionne 513
Messier 513
Howe 511
Crosby 505
Lemieux 497
Multi-point games with 1 team:
Howe 511
Crosby 505
Lemieux 497
How cool is it that we have somebody like Grover who puts this kind of stuff together and just makes it available for everyone?
It wouldn’t be the same on a Penguins record breaking night without his contributions so thank you, Bob
How many points should Sidney Crosby have
As with every milestone I am going to go out of my way to show what was stolen from Sidney Crosby as a result of David Steckel’s dirty Winter Classic hit.
I don’t think enough people realize that his prime years were stolen from him. The hockey world has been mesmerized by Connor McDavid’s brilliance his whole career, but especially the last five years. Sidney Crosby lost the first half of those years. His 23, 24, and 25 year old seasons were heavily impacted and we did not actually get to see Sidney Crosby at his highest powers.
When he returned to play a full season in his year 26 season he wont the Art Ross and Hart Trophy. Something he would have almost been guaranteed to do those previous three years.
Right now Sidney Crosby has played in 1,382 games and has 645 goals, 1,079 assists, and 1,724 points.
How many *should* he have? I did the math on it a few years ago on what Crosby’s prime production would be like.
All in all Sidney Crosby lost 147 games during his prime years to injury and a lockout. During his prime Sidney Crosby averaged 22 minutes per game. If we were to take his average ice time for 147 games and apply his scoring rates to those minutes we can see just how much Crosby lost out on.
For all situations points per 60 I will use 4.41 points per 60. That’s what it was in the 2010-11 season and that is what it was in the 2012-13 season. The 2011-12 season was a career high of 5.32, but it was only a 20 game sample so I’ll stay on the conservative side and stick with the 4.41 rate. How many points did he miss out on? If my math is correct he lost out on about 238 points. Instead of the 1,089 points he has now he would have 1,327.
How many goals did he lose? I took all of the games he played during the 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13 season and came up with a 1.60 goals per 60 rate. Using the same formula as above (147 games at 22 minutes per game) that would come out to 86 goals that have disappeared from his resume. That would give him 487 on his career. This is staggering to think about.
With 86 more goals and 238 more points Sidney Crosby would be at 731 goals and 2,010 points. It is staggering what we’ve missed out on and outside of his immense talent it is also what strongly links him with Mario Lemieux, the missed time.
So when it is time to start placing Sidney Crosby historically, it would be malpractice to ignore the goals, assists, points, and league awards he missed out on during this time period.
While my brain completely understands that this is true, it still felt incredibly weird to type out.
My thoughts
Last night was incredibly special and I found myself trying to process that someone had actually surpassed Mario Lemieux’s Penguins points record. It was unthinkable to those of us who grew up watching Mario’s Penguins. He was and still is larger than life. He has a regal presence like no other in the sport of hockey.
For people like me It is tough to process that Mario doesn’t have the franchise record for points anymore. Mario had the record for 13,484 days. He passed Rick Kehoe’s 636 points on January 20, 1989.
I was six years old when he passed Kehoe. Mario was everything to me growing up with hockey. I would try to copy his mannerisms and moves to the best of my ability. While it certainly wasn’t a spot on impression, it helped me grow into the hockey player I became and eventually led to me to playing in college.
So while Sidney Crosby passing Mario kinda breaks my brain. I couldn’t think of a better person and player to do it. Sid is beyond deserving and has also taught me so much about the sport just by watching him night in and night out the past 20 years.
He nails the basics of hockey and does so with a consistency that is unfathomable. I’ve been able to use so many Crosby clips to show the players I coach, if it isn’t too good for him it isn’t too good for you. Sid’s brilliance is in his consistency and his work ethic. He is habitual and committed as much as any other player in history. You see it with every shift he has ever played.
I am eternally grateful for 66 and 87 and what they have meant to me and the sport I love.
Congratulations Sidney Crosby on achieving something so wonderful and so deserved. Thank you Mario for paving the way so somebody like Sidney Crosby could still do so in a Penguins uniform, in the city of Pittsburgh.
Thank you, Mario. Thank you, Sid.
