Sidney Crosby Surpasses Joe Sakic During Home Opener with Major All-Time Milestone
Photo credit: ClutchPoints
Penguins' Sidney Crosby scored his 626th career goal and surpassed Joe Sakic for the fifth most with one franchise, now sitting behind the great Mario Lemieux.
In spite of preseason expectations that the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to be 2025-26 Eastern Conference basement dwellers, Sidney Crosby's team has started the year red-hot with a spotless 2-0 mark.
Following the shutout of the Rangers in New York to open the season, Pittsburgh returned home Thursday and edged the New York Islanders 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena. Crosby and Evgeni Malkin counted for five points to fuel the early romp.
Crosby moved up a level on the NHL all-time list as well. From his Opening Night helper, he moved into a tie with Steve Yzerman with his 1,063rd career assist for ninth place on the NHL all-time list.
Crosby didn't stop there, as with his goal last night, he surpassed Joe Sakic for fifth all-time in terms of most goals with one franchise.
"Sidney Crosby scored his 626th career goal and surpassed Joe Sakic for the fifth most by one player with one franchise," shared NHL Public Relations after Crosby scored a go-ahead tally on a second period powerplay. "Mario Lemieux sits in fourth."
Crosby is also ninth on the all-time list with 1,689 career points, just 11 from reaching the 1,700 benchmark and coming within range of Mario Lemieux's 1,723 for eighth.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are Playing Like They're Back in Their Prime
Both players had a strong start, with Crosby scoring two points against the Islanders and Malkin recording five assists through the first two games. Their work has been a stabilizing element on a roster not asked to do much prior to the preseason.
The youth movement has played its part. Nineteen-year-old Harrison Brunicke netted his first NHL goal in Thursday's second period, with assistance from 25-year-old Filip Hallander.
Both players' first career points came on the goal, and Brunicke is the first player from South Africa to have scored in the league.
The Penguins will try to remain unbeaten Saturday against the Rangers in a rematch on a busy league-wide slate. All 32 teams are playing, with puck drop scheduled at PPG Paints Arena sometime around 7 p.m. ET.
A solid start won't scare away big-picture problems, but Pittsburgh's early success has provided something the organization wasn't promised this fall: hope.
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