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As for Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux is still number one in his rankings.
But after Sunday night, Lemieux officially became the No. 2 pick.
Crosby broke Lemieux's scoring record with a goal and an assist in the first period of the Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-3 shootout victory over the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night.
“I don’t think you can put a number on what he means to this team and to hockey, so yeah, he’s still No. 1 in my opinion,” Crosby said.
Crosby, who entered the game one point behind Lemieux, now has 645 goals and 1,079 assists for 1,724 points in 1,387 regular-season games. It also allowed him to pass Lemieux for eighth most points in NHL history.
Crosby, a native of Cole Harbor, N.C., scored on Erik Karlsson's goal at 7:58 of the first period to set the record. He then broke the mark with 7:20 left in the period when his power-play shot hit Brian Rust and Rickard Rakell deflected the ball behind Jakub Dobes.
Crosby, Rust and Rakell hugged behind the net after the goal, and the Penguins spilled onto the bench to congratulate their captain. Later in the same period, a 30-second video message recorded by Lemieux was played congratulating Crosby on his achievement.
“When we played together in 2005, I knew you would be a special player and achieve great things in your career,” Lemieux said in the message. “It's 20 years later and now you're one of the best to ever play the game.”
Lemieux once owned the Penguins
Silence reigned in the arena as fans listened intently to Lemieux's message.
“Seeing the crowd go silent when Mario's message came out was something special,” Crosby said. “If you don't understand the impact he had here, and you were here tonight, I think you understand it a little better considering how quiet it's gotten.”
Lemieux, a Hall of Famer who also owned the franchise after his second retirement, became the Penguins' all-time points leader, surpassing then-assistant coach Rick Kehoe on Jan. 20, 1989, when Crosby was 17 months old. Lemieux, who was in the lineup when Crosby recorded his first NHL point, retired with 1,723 points in 915 games.
“I'm very grateful for the opportunity to play with him, live with him and learn from him,” said Crosby, who lived with Lemieux and his family early in his career. “You grow up watching him, you never expect to make it to the NHL, let alone play with him. He helped me a lot and had a huge influence on me.”
Crosby, the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, is the seventh all-time points leader in the franchise's 58-year history and the ninth active player to lead the franchise in points. Crosby previously broke Lemieux's record for most assists in franchise history on Dec. 29 last year against the New York Islanders. Crosby trails Lemieux's record of 690 goals by 45 goals.
Crosby currently ranks third on the NHL's all-time points list for a single team, trailing only Steve Yzerman (1,755) and Gordie Howe (1,809), both with Detroit.
Crosby also passed Phil Esposito (449) for the ninth-most even-strength goals in NHL history. He is also tied with Adam Oates for eighth place in NHL history in first-period assists. Crosby, who has scored 20 goals this season, recorded his 18th 20-goal season. The most by six players in NHL history.
The biggest score on Sunday was Lemieux's career scoring record.
“Being able to play on the same line and score some goals is something I'll always remember,” Crosby said. “The impact he has had on me, this team and hockey in general has been amazing.”
