Sidney Crosby moved to the top of the Penguins’ all-time scoring list on Sunday evening, passing franchise legend Mario Lemieux with a goal and an assist in the first period during the team’s game against the Montreal Canadiens.
Crosby entered Sunday’s game trailing Lemieux by one point, tying and setting the new scoring record with 1,724 points.
After setting the new scoring record, a tribute message from Mario Lemieux played at PPG Paints Arena, bringing the crowd to its feet.
“Hey Sid, congratulations on passing me with 1,724 points,” Lemieux said. “I knew when we played together in 2005 that you were gonna be a very special player and accomplish a lot of great things in your career. Here we are 20 years later. You’re one of the best to ever play the game. You’ve been a great ambassador for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the National Hockey League, and the hockey world. I just would like to wish you all the best the rest of the way and again, congratulations. Well done.”
During the ensuing intermission, Crosby spoke about how much respect he has for Lemieux and their friendship.
“Obviously, I have a ton of respect for Mario and everything he’s done for this team and for hockey in general, so it’s pretty special,” Crosby said.
Crosby said Lemieux’s message played in the arena meant a lot to him and he was hoping to set the record while Lemieux could be in attendance.
“It was really special to have that message and obviously that friendship and what him and his family mean to me is a lot,” Crosby said. “It was really nice to have that.”
Along with setting a new franchise scoring record, Crosby has also moved into 8th all-time in NHL scoring history, trailing Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman by 31 points for 7th place, a feat that Crosby could achieve by the end of the season.
