HIGHLIGHTS
- Sidney Crosby clinched his 21st consecutive point-per-game season on Sunday, extending his own NHL record
- Crosby had a goal and two assists as Pittsburgh beat Florida 5-2, with the Panthers eliminated from playoff contention a night earlier
- Read below for details on the milestone and where Crosby stands in the history books
Every season since his first one, Sidney Crosby has averaged at least a point per game. Every single one. 21 in a row now.
Crosby had a goal and two assists Sunday as Pittsburgh beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 at PPG Paints Arena, clinching his 21st consecutive point-per-game season in the process. The record is entirely his own. He broke Wayne Gretzky’s mark of 19 last season, pushed it to 20, and now it sits at 21.
He sits at 72 points (29 goals, 43 assists) in 65 games this season, at 38 years old, against the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers, who arrived in Pittsburgh already eliminated from playoff contention after Saturday’s 9-4 beatdown in the same building.
Rickard Rakell scored twice and Bryan Rust hit the 500-point mark in his career. It was one of those nights where the whole lineup contributed, but the story was always going to be Crosby.
The streak started in 2005-06, his rookie season, when he put up 102 points in 81 games. There have been injuries and missed games. There have been down stretches and rebuilding years around him. None of it has stopped him from ending every single season above a point per game. The previous closest anyone got to this was Gretzky, who did it 19 times. Crosby has lapped him twice now.
Pittsburgh is second in the Metropolitan Division at 39-22-16, sitting in good shape for a playoff run. Crosby needs 15 more points to pass Marcel Dionne for sixth place all-time on the scoring list, a mark he will likely reach sometime in the next week or two. He already passed Steve Yzerman for seventh on Saturday night.
He has played 21 seasons with one franchise, won three Cups, and never once had an off year by any meaningful statistical measure. This record is his and nobody is catching him anytime soon.
