Sidney Crosby Named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week

Pittsburgh Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week ending January 4, it was announced today.

Crosby recorded four goals, four assists and eight points through four games last week, leading his team to remain undefeated since the NHL’s holiday break concluded on December 27 (5-0-0). Over the past week, only Auston Matthews (5) and Tom Wilson (5) have more goals than Crosby, while only three players recorded more points than his eight.

The forward, who is riding a season-long seven-game point streak (5G-7A-12PTS), has multiple points in each of his last three games. Crosby capped off his week last night in Columbus with an assist on Rickard Rakell’s game-tying goal with 14 seconds left, then becoming the first player in NHL history to record 50 career overtime points with his 25^th overtime goal to complete the comeback from a 4-1 deficit.

Over the past week, Crosby has led the Penguins to the most wins (4) and points (8) in the league. Stretching back further, the Penguins have the second-longest active winning streak in the league (Tampa Bay, 7-0-0) due in large part to Crosby’s play as of late. Since the NHL’s holiday break, the Penguins rank first in wins (5), points (10), goals per game (5.00) and goal differential (+13).

At the halfway point of the season, the 38-year old leads the Penguins and ranks fifth in the league with 24 goals. Only Boston’s Morgan Geekie (25) has more goals among Eastern Conference skaters than Crosby, while the Captain is on pace to record 48 goals, which would mark the most by a 38-year old in a single season (Alex Ovechkin & Gordie Howe, 44). Crosby’s career high goal total is 51 established in 2009-10.