Sidney Crosby has accomplished seemingly everything throughout his legendary career. So at this point, he's just checking off things that previously weren't even possible - like playing an NHL game on his birthday.
The captain, who was born 33 years ago today on Aug. 7, 1987, will do that this afternoon for the first time as the Penguins take on Montreal in Game 4 of their Qualifying Round at Scotiabank Arena.
"With it being a summer birthday, there wasn't a lot of hockey going on at that time," Crosby said earlier this week. "I feel like there's been a lot of things like that over the last four or five months. It's a unique thing. I don't think I've ever envisioned that."
Needless to say, the best birthday present the captain could receive is a victory, as the Penguins trail the Canadiens 2-1 in the best-of-five series.
They must win tonight in order to keep their season alive, and Crosby will certainly be more motivated than ever to do everything in his power to make that happen - as he would love nothing more than to add a fourth Stanley Cup to that above-mentioned long list of accomplishments.
"I just think Sid plays his best when the stakes are high," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. "He knows what's at stake. He knows what's on the line. He sees the opportunity in front of us, and he gets excited about it and he elevates his game.
"He's got a long history of that. There's plenty of evidence to see that he elevates his game when the stakes are high. That's what makes him the player that he is, that's what makes him the leader that he is. That's why he's so important to our hockey team."
Crosby enters tonight with points in all three of Pittsburgh's games thus far (two goals and one assist) and is quickly ascending the ranks of the NHL's all-time playoff producers.
Only four players in NHL history have recorded more playoff points before their 33rd birthday than Crosby's 189: Wayne Gretzky (346); Mark Messier (229); Jari Kurri (217); and Glenn Anderson (201).
He just surpassed Joe Sakic and Doug Gilmour for eighth place on the NHL's all-time playoff points list, and is now one shy of tying Brett Hull for seventh place. Crosby is also now tied with Gordie Howe for 18th place on the NHL all-time playoff goals list with 68.
His career 1.13 points-per-game average in the playoffs is tied for eighth-best all-time (minimum 50 games played). Since the beginning of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Crosby has picked up 22 points (8G-14A) in 17 games, and that 1.32 points-per-game average is tied with teammate Jake Guentzel for best in the league (min. 10 GP).
"Everybody is watching Sid on our team, like even the older guys are always going to follow him," Kris Letang said. "When Sid is leading your team, you know you are in good hands. When you have a guy that is ready and is hungry like he is right now, I think it's easy to follow him and be on the same page."
