Crosby Makes History Saturday In Montreal

Just 2:08 into Saturday’s game in Montreal, Sidney Crosby fed Erik Karlsson for a one-timer that beat Canadiens goaltender Jacob Fowler. Whether you watched the game live, caught it on a TV at the bar, or checked the score on your phone, it may have looked like a routine night for the Penguins captain, who had done this 1,111 times before. But this assist meant more.

Crosby’s 1,112th career assist gave him the most by any player with one franchise in NHL history, passing the record Hall of Famer Ray Bourque set with the Boston Bruins 26 years ago.

Karlsson and Sid seem to have some special milestone connection, as the Swedish defenseman netted an overtime game-winner on Crosby’s 1,000th career assist against the Red Wings in April 2024.

In his post game interview, when asked about the milestone, Crosby stated, “I’ve been pretty fortunate to be part of this organization for a really long time. And it’s crazy how fast it goes. But definitely honored to be in that company,”  as reported by King Jemison with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Crosby added a goal and another assist in the Penguins’ 5-4 loss to Montreal, which moved him into a tie with Marcel Dionne for sixth on the NHL’s all-time points list at 1,771. Crosby is now 27 points shy of Ron Francis for fifth in all-time scoring and 22 assists shy of Paul Coffey for sixth in all-time assists.

Although he has gotten off to a slow start by his standards, the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native still has 10 points in his first 14 games and looked to have a little extra jump on Saturday against the team he grew up cheering for.

The loss Saturday dropped the Penguins to 5-7-2, sixth in the Metropolitan Division and six points out of a wild-card spot. Since opening the season 2-0, Pittsburgh has just one regulation win and is 0-6-1 on the road. With the season exactly one-sixth complete, Crosby and company have their work cut out for them in a crowded Eastern Conference if they want to return to the postseason.

While nobody can outrun, or in this case outskate, Father Time, Crosby is as good a candidate as any to give him a run for his money. The 39-year-old is chasing his 22nd straight season at over a point per game, a record that he has held since passing Wayne Gretzky’s 19-season milestone during the 2024-25 season.

Twenty-two seasons and 353 teammates later, it’s still a pleasure to watch one of the game’s all-time greats go to work night in and night out. Sid’s legacy just keeps growing, and by all indications, he isn’t done yet.