The next day (April 5), Crosby put himself into even more rarified air by clinching his 21st consecutive point-per-game season, two more than any other player in NHL history.
“(The point-per-game record) is an awesome accomplishment for Sid,” Bryan Rust told SportsNet Pittsburgh’s Dan Potash during the first intermission interview. “It’s something that obviously hasn’t been done before, and he just continues to amaze everyone.”
After Rust finished his postgame interview, we joked about how much we ask him about Crosby’s milestones, because it feels like there is a new one every night. And as someone who has covered the team for 15 of Crosby’s 21 seasons, it can be challenging to find new ways to write about his greatness, which is obviously a good problem to have.
After putting together this feature last year when the captain passed Wayne Gretzky to set the initial record, I was struggling to think of a new angle this year.
Then, Dan Muse spoke after Saturday’s game, which also featured Evgeni Malkin reaching 1,400 points.
“For me, and I hope for everybody involved, on our team, in this (media) room, in Pittsburgh, like, these are big deals. You can't take this for granted just because you keep seeing milestones being hit, or you keep seeing another record or points or whatever it is,” Muse said.
“Some people never get to see things like this happen... It's incredible to see. I think for everybody involved, it’s something we're all proud to be witnessing firsthand and a part of right now, seeing them continue to just do amazing things, which they've been doing for a really long time.”
That was the perfect reminder to just try to soak it all in. At this point, not much more needs to be said when it comes to Crosby’s unparalleled consistency.
So, with that in the back of our minds, we watched with an added layer of appreciation, first when Crosby took a pass from Egor Chinkahov and put a perfectly placed shot into the back of the net. And again, when Crosby one-touched a perfect pass to Rickard Rakell in the slot, who scored on a one-timer. And then for a third time, when Crosby spun a backhand feed to Rust, who powered to the net and got it over the line.
When Muse came in to do his postgame media availability, he reiterated his point from the previous day.
“I really hope nobody's taking it for granted. I really do,” Muse said. “The fans, media, everybody in the community, to be able to see this firsthand – like, it's amazing. Twenty-one seasons, a point-per-game, NHL record. And that's a big one. I mean, just think about how much has to go into it. I'm not just talking about hockey here. I'm talking about all sports. For people to be able to do it for that long, it doesn't happen.
Penguins President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas had a similar take earlier this season, saying that athletes deeply dedicated to their craft can typically sustain their performance over the long term. And while it’s easy to say that there have been advances in science, training and everything of that nature, those apply to the young players as well.
“So, you have to outwork and be more deeply committed to it than anybody. And I think that's what Sid's able to do,” Dubas said. “The level of focus, level of commitment, day in and day out, it doesn't ever fade.
“So, it's a lot of fun to to watch, and I don't see there any reason to put a timeline on how long he can keep it up for.”
From Crosby’s perspective, in addition to everything he does to take care of his body, there are a lot of things that have helped him and Malkin perform at this elite level this far into their careers. For Malkin's part, he clinched his 16th point-per-game season, which trails only Crosby, Wayne Gretzky (19) and Gordie Howe (17).
“Playing with a great group of guys for an organization that we care a lot about,” Crosby said. “Still getting the opportunity to play in big roles, that doesn’t always happen as you get older. There’s responsibility that comes with that and trust and belief. Then, just having passion for the game. We still love it after all these years and want to contribute and want to win. That’s the best way we can try to contribute.”
