As far as Sidney Crosby is concerned, Mario Lemieux is still No. 1 in his book.
But after Sunday night, Lemieux is now officially No. 2.
Crosby broke Lemieux’s franchise scoring record with a goal and an assist in the first period of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-3 shootout win against the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night.
“I don’t think you can put a stat line or a number on what he means to this team and to hockey, so yeah, in my mind, he’s still No. 1,” Crosby said.
Crosby, who began the night one point behind Lemieux, now has 645 goals and 1,079 assists for 1,724 points in 1,387 regular-season games. It also moved him past Lemieux for the eighth-most points in NHL history.
Crosby, a native of Cole Harbour, N.S., tipped Erik Karlsson’s point shot at 7:58 of the first period for a goal to tie the record. He then broke the mark with 7:20 left in the period when his shot on a power play hit Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell tapped the rebound behind Jakub Dobes.
Crosby, Rust and Rakell embraced behind the net after the goal and the Penguins spilled over the bench to congratulate their captain. Later in the period, a 30-second video message recorded by Lemieux congratulating Crosby on the accomplishment was played.
“I knew when we played together in 2005 that you were going to be a very special player and accomplish a lot of great things in your career,” Lemieux said in the message. “Here we are 20 years later, you’re now one of the best to ever play the game.”
A hush fell over the arena as fans intently listened to Lemieux’s message.
“Seeing the crowd go quiet when Mario’s message come on, that was pretty special,” Crosby said. “If you don’t understand the impact he’s had here and you were here tonight, I think you understand it a little bit better given how quiet it got.”
Lemieux, the Hall of Famer, who also owned the franchise following his second retirement, became the Penguins’ all-time points leader, surpassing then-assistant coach Rick Kehoe on Jan. 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.
“I have so much appreciation for having the opportunity to play with him, live with him and learn from him,” said Crosby, who lived with Lemieux and his family early in his career. “You grow up watching him, you never expect you’re going to make it to the NHL let alone play with him. He was a big part of helping me out and a huge influence on me.”
Crosby, the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, is the seventh outright all-time points leader in 58 years of the franchise’s history and the ninth active player to lead a franchise in points. Crosby previously broke Lemieux’s record for most assists in franchise history last Dec. 29 against the New York Islanders. Crosby is 45 goals behind Lemieux’s franchise record of 690.
Crosby is now third on the NHL’s all-time points list with a single franchise, behind only Steve Yzerman (1,755) and Gordie Howe (1,809), both with Detroit.
Crosby also passed Phil Esposito (449) for sole possession of the ninth-most even-strength goals in NHL history. He also tied Adam Oates for the eighth-most assists in NHL history in the first period. Crosby, who has 20 goals this season, achieved his 18th 20-goal season. Only six players in NHL history have more.
The biggest number on Sunday was Lemieux’ franchise scoring record.
“Having an opportunity to play on the same line and connect on a few goals, those are things that I’ll always remember,” Crosby said. “The impact he’s had on me, this team and hockey in general is pretty amazing.”
