Having debuted with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005, Sidney Crosby is still driving NHL goalies mad.
On Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, in a 2–1 defeat to the host New Jersey Devils that was decided in a shootout, Crosby kept the Penguins in the hunt right up until the game’s final shot at Prudential Center. Pittsburgh’s captain made his presence felt in his team’s lone score of the day. In what was a battle for possession of first place in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division, Crosby chipped in for the Penguins’ lone score that came in the second period.
After New Jersey’s Arseni Gritsyuk netted his unassisted goal at 19.12 in the opening period, Pittsburgh would even the score at 1 each at 12:33 in the second period, with Ryan Graves shooting the puck past Devils’ goalie Jake Allen. Graves’ first goal of the season came with assists from Bryan Rust and Crosby.
The game remained tied through regulation play, and through 5 minutes of overtime, only to be decided by goals during the first two rounds of the shootout for the Devils by Paul Cotter and Jesper Bratt. Penguins’ coach Don Muse called up Crosby to keep the round going. New Jersey’s Allen blocked Crosby’s shot, and secured the game.
New Jersey ended the game undefeated in seven tries at home this season, while Pittsburgh jetted home for an afternoon non-conference match with the Los Angeles Kings at PPG Paints Arena.
One of the leading reasons why the Penguins trail New Jersey in second place in the Metropolitan Division by only one point (22 points to 21) is the faster-than-expected start of their superstar center Crosby this season. Even the greatest puck-handlers in NHL history began slowing down before reaching their late 30s. And now in his 21st season with Pittsburgh, and at 38 years old, most followers of Crosby’s career weren’t expecting him to lead the team into contention for the Metropolitan Division this season. Surprise best sums up the Penguins season through their first 16 games.
Of Pittsburgh’s 14 power play goals, Crosby has notched 6 of them. Throw in 55 goals and 100 assists as a team, and there should be no guessing why the Penguins are the toast of the Eastern Conference.
Both New Jersey and the Montreal Canadiens are ahead of Pittsburgh, but each by only one point. On the penalty kill, Pittsburgh is averaging a respectful 85.11 percent, good for eighth among the 32 NHL teams.
Already having won three Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh since being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, Crosby is displaying the same hunger to win that was prevalent from the get-go as a rookie. Now 636 goals and 1,071 assists later, Crosby isn’t stopping in hopes of collecting more NHL hardware. Having teammate Evgeni Malkin, 39 (Crosby’s yin to his yang) still sharing ice with him, is a constant source of added confidence that allows Crosby to work his magic bringing the puck down rink. Twenty seasons with Malkin, and 20 as well with defenseman Kris Letang (all three have jointly celebrated Penguins’ Cup victories as far back as the spring of 2009) give Pittsburgh’s younger players much guidance on how an organization advances from good to great.
When teammates, several who grew up idolizing Crosby—dubbed “Sid the Kid” by the media—observe how hard he’s still working at his game after taking a physical pounding for more than two decades at the highest level of play on the planet, they have no other choice but to train equally as hard.
It was once rare for NHL skaters to remain in the league for two decades, but a select few—the great ones—Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jaromir Jagr, and Alex Ovechkin, who earlier this season scored his 900th career NHL goal with the Washington Capitals—have set the bar of hockey excellence that remains nearly impossible to duplicate. Crosby shows no signs of losing his stride. Like Ovechkin who has spent the last 21 seasons with the Capitals, by choice, Crosby has happily planted roots in Pittsburgh, the city that drafted him.
The business end of Crosby’s career remains free of drama, unmarked by contract disputes or a change in team ownership affecting management’s attitude toward his ability to dictate the tempo on ice well into his 30s. After completing the contract he signed in July 2012 that took him through last season, the Penguins’ captain in September 2024 inked a two-year, $17.4 million deal that would take him through the 2026–2027 NHL season. This could be the last contract Crosby agrees to, should he contemplate retirement.
Good things don’t last forever. As abundantly talented as Crosby is at putting a stick on a puck, Father Time has a way of putting a check on hockey players when they may least expect the hit. The Crosby/Malkin/Letang/Penguins era just may have its most exciting, unexpectedly successful finish this spring, in a way that hasn’t been experienced in Pittsburgh in many years. As long as “Sid the Kid” is on the ice, anything is possible.
