Penguins’ Sidney Crosby breaks silence after reaching 1,700 NHL points, joining legends Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux

Sidney Crosby showcased why he remains one of the NHL’s all-time greats, recording a goal and two assists to surpass 1,700 career points during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Monday. The milestone makes Crosby the ninth player in NHL history to reach 1,700 points, joining legends like Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr, and Mario Lemieux.

Crosby now has 1,701 points (632 goals, 1,069 assists) through 1,362 games, ranking as the fourth-fastest player to reach the mark behind Gretzky, Lemieux, and Marcel Dionne. His achievement comes during a strong start to the season for Pittsburgh, who improved to 7-2-1 and remain unbeaten in its last six games at 5-0-1.

“Joining that company, those are players I grew up idolizing. I didn’t ever think I’d be with them or near them,” Crosby said, according to NHL.com. “It’s something I’m grateful for, that I’ve been able to play this long and be part of that group.”

How did Crosby help secure the win?

The Penguins got off to a fast start, scoring on their first two shots of the game within 16 seconds. Bryan Rust and Anthony Mantha tallied quick goals to put Pittsburgh up 2-0 before the Blues began to respond. Nick Bjugstad and Jordan Kyrou helped St. Louis tie the game 2-2, but Crosby set up Parker Wotherspoon on a delayed penalty snap shot to regain the lead at 3-2 in the second period.

Crosby also earned the secondary assist on Rust’s early third-period goal, marking the point that officially pushed him past 1,700. He then scored his own goal on a rebound later in the period to make it 5-3, before Evgeni Malkin added an empty-net goal to seal the 6-3 victory.

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“To be part of I don’t know how many (of Crosby’s points), obviously not all of them, but to be part of some of them has been really cool,” Rust said. “And to get the goal on 1,700 is really cool and something I’m going to remember.”

What’s next for the Penguins after Crosby’s milestone?

Crosby now has 1,902 total points combining regular season and playoffs, seventh-most in NHL history, and has recorded 498 multipoint games, the most in Penguins history. Pittsburgh is off to its best 10-game start since 2016-17, and the team will look to maintain momentum as it faces upcoming divisional rivals.