Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, after reaching the 1,600-point plateau earlier in the Penguins’ Wednesday game, fittingly assisted on longtime teammate Evgeni Malkin’s 500th goal against the visiting Buffalo Sabres.
Crosby then capped the historic night by scoring an overtime goal — his first goal of the season — to give Pittsburgh a 6-5 victory.
The 37-year-old center became just the 10th player in NHL history with 1,600 points, hitting the milestone with his assist on Bryan Rust’s first-period goal. The 20-year veteran achieved the feat in his 1,277th career game. He has 593 goals and 1,009 assists.
With seven more goals, Crosby — a three-time Stanley Cup champion and eight-time All-Star — would join another exclusive club, becoming the ninth player with at least 600 goals and 1,000 assists.
Crosby, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, has five assists in five games this season.
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Crosby’s teammate since 2006-07, Malkin became the 48th NHL player with 500 goals. The 38-year-old Russia native, who had three assists on the night, including one on Crosby’s OT tally, has 1,306 points (500 goals, 806 assists) in 1,150 games.
In his 19th season since the Penguins drafted him No. 2 overall in 2004, Malkin — a three-time Cup winner and three-time All-Star — has a league-high 11 points (two goals, league-high nine assists) through five games this season.