It wasn’t easy, but the Pittsburgh Penguins earned an important victory on Sunday – and their captain made history in the process.
The Penguins narrowly defeated the New York Islanders, 3-2, to take the second game of a home-and-home and catapult themselves into a playoff spot. And, with an assist on a second-period power play goal by Michael Bunting, Sidney Crosby surpassed Mario Lemieux for the most assists in franchise history with 1,034.
After the goal – and his accomplishment – was announced, Crosby received a loud standing ovation from the Pittsburgh faithful:
“Just definitely appreciate it,” Crosby said. “I’ve had some special moments here at home over the years. To get that kind of reception, to be up in the game and that sort of thing, it means a lot.”
He also acknowledged how it feels to surpass a guy like Lemieux and some other all-time great Penguins players with his recent milestones.
“I think I have a lot of appreciation for what the guys have done on that list, especially Mario, what he means to the city and the organization,” Crosby said. “But yeah, I think all the guys that have played prior to me, it’s really nice to be part of that company.”
Anthony Beauvillier – a former Islander – opened the scoring for Pittsburgh off a nice feed from Bunting early in the first period for his ninth of the season. Bunting scored his power play goal in the second period, and Evgeni Malkin added another power play tally for Pittsburgh in the third period.
The Islanders came back with a late push, scoring two goals with an empty net in the last seven minutes of the game. But the Penguins perservered, and they earned an important two points against a team they have struggled against.
“We just knew it’s got to be a good bounce-back game,” Bunting said. “It was a quick turnaround, and you can have all these excuses in the world that you’re tired and what not. But we didn’t do that. I think we played a complete game. They got those two six-on-five goals, but I thought we defended hard, and it showed tonight.”
Here are some thoughts and obeservations from Sunday’s win:
– Crosby continues to build both his Penguins legacy and his NHL all-time repertoire.
There are so many reasons why Crosby surpassing Lemieux to hold a fitting record of his own is so impressive. But, when considering Lemieux’s legacy to the city of Pittsburgh, it means even more than Crosby is on track to best most of his sheer career numbers.
I – along with everyone else – am running out of…