pittsburgh– Sidney Crosby broke down mario lemieuxFranchise scoring record with one goal and one assist in the first period of the pittsburgh penguins, 4-3 win on shootout montreal canadiens On Sunday night.
Crosby, who started the night one point behind Lemieux, now has 645 goals and 1,079 assists for 1,724 points in 1,387 games. This moved him ahead of Lemieux for eighth-most points in NHL history.
Crosby tipped eric carlsonTo tie the record, a point shot was made at 7:58 of the first period. Crosby then broke the mark over a 7:20 period when his shot on the power play hit brian rustAnd Ricard Raquel taped rebound back jacob dobbs,
After the goal, Crosby, Rust and Rakell hugged behind the net and the Penguins rushed to the bench to congratulate their captain. Later in the period, a video message recorded by Lemieux congratulating Crosby on the accomplishment was played.
“When we played together in 2005 I knew you were going to be a very special player and achieve many great things in your career,” Lemieux said in a message also posted on the club’s social media accounts. “Here we are, 20 years later, now you’re one of the best players to ever play the game.”
From one 🐐 to another 🐐. pic.twitter.com/M3drq86PqV
-Pittsburgh Penguins (@Penguins) 22 December 2025
Lemieux, a Hall of Famer who also owned the franchise after his second retirement, became the Penguins’ all-time points leader, surpassing then-assistant coach Rick Kehoe on January 20, 1989, when Crosby was 17 months old. Lemieux, who was in the lineup when Crosby recorded his first NHL point, finished his career with 1,723 points in 915 games.
Crosby, who lived with Lemieux and his family early in his career, said, “I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to play with them, be with them and learn from them.” “You grow up watching him, you never think you’ll make it to the NHL, let alone play with him. He was a big part of helping me and was a huge influence on me.”
Crosby, the No. 1 pick in 2005, is the seventh all-time points leader in the 58 years of franchise history and the ninth active player to lead the franchise in points. Crosby previously broke Lemieux’s record for most assists in franchise history last December New York IslandersCrosby is 45 goals shy of Lemieux’s franchise record 690,
Crosby is third on the NHL’s all-time points list with a single franchise steve yzerman (1,755) and gordie howe (1,809), both with Detroit.
Crosby also passed Phil Esposito (449) Tied for sole possession of the ninth-most even-strength goals in NHL history. Crosby also tied Adam Oates For eighth-most assists in the first period in NHL history. Crosby, who has scored 20 goals this season, recorded his 18th 20-goal tally of the season. Only six players in NHL history have more.
The Penguins snapped an eight-game skid. Crosby participated in the shootout, but did not score.
Crosby said of playing with Lemieux, “Having the opportunity to play on the same line and connect on some goals… those are things I’ll always remember.” “The impact he had on me, this team and hockey in general is amazing.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
