Sidney Crosby Surpasses Mario Lemieux to Become Penguins’ Highest Points Scorer at 1,724

Sidney Crosby moved above Mario Lemieux and is now the highest points scorer in the Pittsburgh Penguins' franchise history at 1,724 points (645 goals and 1,079 assists).

Sidney Crosby Surpasses Mario Lemieux to Become Penguins’ Highest Points Scorer at 1,724

Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby (Image via NHL/Imago)

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Sidney Crosby has officially surpassed Mario Lemieux. On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain became the team’s highest point scorer at 1,724 with a goal and an assist in their shootout victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Crosby joined the Penguins in 2005 as the No.1 draft pick that year. The 2005-06 season was also the final year of Lemieux’s playing career. The then-captain of the Penguins spent one season playing together with the now-captain of the franchise.

After Lemieux’s retirement from the NHL, Crosby was named the captain of the team. Since then, the Canadian international has held that responsibility and lifted 3 Stanley Cup titles (2009, 2016 and 2017).

On Sunday, Crosby first levelled the Hall of Famer with a goal in the first period. The 38-year-old tied the game at 1-1 after redirecting a shot pass from Erik Karlsson.

The milestone moment came 5 minutes later. After his initial snap-shot hit Bryan Rust near the crease, the puck was turned home by Rickard Rakell, which gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead.

Crosby picked up the secondary assist for this goal and recorded his 1,724th point (645 goals and 1,079 assists), which saw him surpass Lemieux’s 1,723 points (690 goals and 1,033 assists) record.

Speaking of the game, the Canadiens fought back 3 times and finished the game at 3-3. After overtime failed to separate the two teams, a shootout was required.

Crosby ended up missing his shot. Despite that, the team was able to come out victorious and ended an 8-game losing run. In this run, they lost 2 back-to-back games in shootouts against the Dallas Stars and the Anaheim Ducks and 2 back-to-back games in overtime against the San Jose Sharks and Utah Mammoth.

Mario Lemieux sends message to Sidney Crosby following his milestone moment

After nearly 3-and-a-half decades, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a new record points scorer. 20 years after making his debut in the NHL, Sidney Crosby surpassed the record of Mario Lemieux and became the Penguins’ record points scorer. Following this milestone moment, “Super Mario” sent a message to Crosby.

Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux
Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux (Image via Imago)

Lemieux had been the points leader for the Penguins since January 1989. His goal and two assists against the original Winnipeg Jets saw him reach 638 points and pass Rick Kehoe’s 636 points record.

After he surpassed him, a pre-recorded video of Lemieux was played. In this, the 60-year-old congratulated him and expressed that he was now the “best player” in Penguins history.

Hey, Sid. Congratulations on passing me with 1,724 points. 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. Here we are 20 years later. You are now 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.

Mario Lemieux said in his message to Sidney Crosby

After the game, Crosby would admit that it meant a lot for him to have this message from Lemieux. The forward then spoke about his relationship with him and his family.

Crosby also moved up to 8th in the NHL All-Time scoring records. He is now 31 points behind 7th-place Steve Yzerman. Given the form he is in this season, he could climb up more ranks before the curtain falls on the 2025-26 campaign.

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