For just the third time in his career, Sidney Crosby has scored his 40th goal of the season. Crosby scored early in the first period against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday to reach the mark.
This is the first time Crosby has reached 40 goals since the 2016-17 season. The only time besides then was in 2009-10 when he scored 51 goals. This goal also got Crosby to the 85-point plateau for the 11th time in his career.
This feat also made team history, as Crosby became the oldest player in Penguins history to score 40 goals in a season. In turn, he climbs the ladder for most goals in a season by a player who is 36 years old or older.
As he tries to will the Penguins into a playoff spot, he can climb the ranking even further down the stretch. Three more goals and he’ll leapfrog Hall of Famer Phil Esposito and Alex Ovechkin (at least Ovechkin’s second-best mark on the list).
In his 19th season in the NHL, Crosby keeps finding new storylines to add to his already storied career. Entering Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Penguins sat two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the second wild card.
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