Crosby passes Lemieux for Penguins points mark in shootout win against Canadiens

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist to surpass Mario Lemieux for the most points with the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-3 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens that ended an eight-game losing streak at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

Crosby is eighth in NHL history with 1,724 points (645 goals, 1,079 assists) in 1,387 games. Lemieux retired in 2005 with 1,723 points (690 goals, 1,033 assists) in 915 games.

“It's kind of mixed emotions, I guess,” Crosby said. “Because that number, I've been kind of hanging around. The hockey gods made me earn it, I feel like, the last few games. But just to get the win, to get a win in a shootout, it all kind of lined up well tonight.”

The 38-year-old Pittsburgh captain matched Lemieux on his 20th goal this season, tying it 1-1 at 7:58 of the first period by redirecting a shot-pass from Erik Karlsson.

Crosby became the outright Penguins points leader with a secondary assist on a power play at 12:40. His slap shot hit Bryan Rust near the crease before Rickard Rakell scored on the loose puck to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead.

The Penguins bench cleared to celebrate.

“It was incredible. You're watching history. You're seeing it first-hand,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “I mean, it's something you knew was coming, but just for everybody that was here today, everybody involved, it was incredible. For Sid, it's just, yeah, he's obviously such a humble person.

“But you know how special of a moment that has to be. I think back, even just conversations that I had with him just getting to know him, and you see how much pride he has in this organization and the history of this organization.”

Rakell had a goal and an assist, and Arturs Silovs made 22 saves for the Penguins (15-11-9), who were 0-4-4 in their previous eight games, including a 4-0 loss at the Canadiens on Saturday.

Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen each had a goal and an assist, and Juraj Slafkovsky had two assists for Montreal (19-12-5), which is 4-1-2 in its past seven games. Jakub Dobes made 28 saves.

“I think we were all aware of it,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said of the possibility of Crosby passing Lemieux. “I don’t think we lost our focus. Obviously, it would’ve been nice to push him another game, but it’s Sidney Crosby. He’s had a great career. I’m happy for him.”

Kevin Hayes and Rakell scored in the shootout for the Penguins. Cole Caufield scored in the second round for the Canadiens, but Silovs made saves on Alexandre Texier and Nick Suzuki.

Kapanen put Montreal ahead 1-0 at 7:31 of the first period with his 11th goal of the season, a one-timer in the left face-off circle.

Crosby then took 27 seconds to score the Penguins’ first goal in 128:10.

“He is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Him and Mario,” Rust said. “I think now, he's obviously got more points, but I think those two are at the top. Everything they mean to the organization, the NHL, the city, everybody who's been a part of it, and you can tell that it means so much to him. And for us to be able to get the win on a night where we celebrate that was huge.”

After Rakell put Pittsburgh in front, Demidov tied it 2-2 at 3:54 of the second period by dropping to one knee for a one-timer.

“At times, we weren’t perfect in our D-zone,” Slafkovsky said. “But we fought, we managed to come back, and we had chances to win the game. So, not every game is going to be perfect.”

Noel Acciari put the Penguins back in front 3-2 at 11:51 with a wrist shot into the upper-right corner of the net from the left circle.

Noah Dobson scored on a backhand in the slot, tying it 3-3 at 4:04 of the third period.

“I thought it was kind of back-and-forth,” Suzuki said. “They had momentum, we had momentum. It was just back-to-back against the same team. It’s always tough. I thought we didn’t play our best, but at least we got one point.”

NOTES: Lemieux had been Pittsburgh’s all-time points since Jan. 20, 1989, when he had a goal and two assists against the original Winnipeg Jets to reach 638 points and pass Rick Kehoe (636). ... Crosby recorded his 18th 20-goal season which is the seventh-most in NHL history behind Gordie Howe (22), Alex Ovechkin (20), Ron Francis (20), Brendan Shanahan (19), Dave Andreychuk (19) and Jaromir Jagr (19). … Linesperson Ryan Jackson left at 14:21 of the second period after being injured while attempting to break up an altercation between Penguins defenseman Jack St. Ivany and Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher. Jackson did not put pressure on his left leg while being helped off the ice.