Without a doubt, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was the No. 1 star during Sunday\u2019s 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n
Crosby\u2019s two points in the first period propelled him beyond Mario Lemieux into first place atop the franchise\u2019s career scoring list with 1,724 points.<\/p>\n
As for the second star, in my opinion, it should\u2019ve been Penguins TV play-by-play voice Josh Getzoff for authoring a perfect call of No. 87\u2019s record-breaking assist on a power-play goal by Rickard Rakell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kid is now the king!\u201d<\/p>\n
POINT 1,724 ???? pic.twitter.com\/KCkRszWiDg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 22, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n Perfect. What an eloquent way to punctuate how \u201cSid The Kid\u201d vaulted to the top of the team\u2019s all-time scoring ranks.<\/p>\n Although, based on his postgame comments, Crosby was reluctant to accept such praise. He didn\u2019t sound like a person who wanted to claim Lemieux\u2019s castle.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still No. 1 in my book. I don\u2019t think you can put a stat line or a number on what he means to this team and to hockey,\u201d Crosby said about Lemieux after the game. \u201cIn my mind, he\u2019s still No. 1.\u201d<\/p>\n Frankly, both Getzoff and Crosby are right.<\/p>\n Crosby is the king. The numbers don\u2019t lie. Not just the points. Crosby (645) will likely catch Lemieux (690) in goals soon enough as well. He\u2019s got three Stanley Cup rings to Lemieux\u2019s two. Two Olympic golds to Lemieux\u2019s one. They both have two Conn Smythe trophies.<\/p>\n But has Crosby knocked Lemieux from his pedestal as the icon of the franchise? As the ultimate patriarch Penguin?<\/p>\n Nah. Using Crosby\u2019s own parlance, Lemieux is \u201cstill No. 1.\u201d<\/p>\n Whatever that means. Whatever the quantifiable definition of that incalculable intangible is, Mario is still No. 1 and probably will be forever.<\/p>\n To be fair to Crosby, the question isn\u2019t, \u201cIs Sid greater than Lemieux in Penguins history?\u201d<\/p>\n The more appropriate question might be, \u201cIs there anything Crosby \u2014 or anyone else \u2014 could ever do to pass Lemieux?\u201d<\/p>\n Jaromir Jagr flirted with that. Crosby is coming as close as any mortal could.<\/p>\n But, again, nah. As Sid said, \u201cHe\u2019s still No. 1.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s an unbalanced comp. As he arrived as a player, Mario saved the team when it was nothing. Then he did so again as an owner.<\/p>\n Crosby certainly helped that second chapter. But it\u2019s impossible to separate one from the other. There\u2019s no Pittsburgh hockey renaissance in the early 2000s without Crosby. But Crosby\u2019s career isn\u2019t in Pittsburgh without Lemieux.<\/p>\n So there\u2019s that.<\/p>\n Plus, the other thing to consider is that only the youngest generation of Penguins fans don\u2019t remember Lemieux as a player and have only grown up in the Crosby era. If you\u2019re in the 25-30 range or older, you probably remember at least a little bit of Lemieux\u2019s playing career.<\/p>\n Related He was your guy too, just like Crosby is.<\/p>\n Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger weren\u2019t on the same roster. Roberto Clemente and Barry Bonds never shared an outfield together. Derek Jeter was never on base when Babe Ruth homered. And Larry Bird never made an extra pass to Bill Russell on a fast break.<\/p>\n Sid and Mario were teammates for a little while<\/a>. They worked power plays together.<\/a><\/p>\n Most folks who love Crosby still worship Lemieux. It\u2019s hard to let that go.<\/p>\n It sure sounds like Crosby himself is one of those people.<\/p>\n \u201cI just have so much appreciation for having the opportunity to play with him,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cYou grow up watching Mario, you never expect you\u2019re going to make the NHL, let alone play with him. I had the opportunity to play with him, live with him, learn from him, and just the impact that he\u2019s had here on this team, on and off the ice, and the impact he\u2019s had on hockey in general, it\u2019s pretty amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n By passing Mario, perhaps Crosby\u2019s greatest accomplishment is how he\u2019s framing Lemieux\u2019s legend.<\/p>\n Think about it. When Sidney Crosby was drafted, the consensus opinion about the guy was, \u201cHe\u2019s gonna be great! Maybe not Mario great, but great n\u2019at!\u201d<\/p>\n Fast forward two decades: Crosby has more rings, more points, more gold medals and will eventually have more goals than Lemieux.<\/p>\n Despite all of that data, a lot of us \u2014 including Sid himself \u2014 feel like it\u2019s blasphemous to even consider that Crosby may be better.<\/p>\n If ever there was a crystallization of what Lemieux has done to shape hockey perspective in this city, it\u2019s that.<\/p>\n So, yes, \u201cThe Kid\u201d is now the king. But Le Magnifique will never abdicate the throne.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t
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