PITTSBURGH — In a thrilling matchup on Sunday night, Sidney Crosby set a new franchise record for assists in Pittsburgh, surpassing the legendary Mario Lemieux by assisting on Michael Bunting’s power-play goal. This milestone came during the Penguins’ 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders.
With this latest assist, Crosby reached a total of 1,034 assists, positioning himself 12th on the all-time NHL assists leaderboard. Remarkably, only three players have achieved more assists with a single franchise than Crosby: Ray Bourque, Wayne Gretzky, and Steve Yzerman. At 37 years old, Crosby has participated in 1,310 regular-season games, while Lemieux completed his career with 915 games.
Evgeni Malkin contributed to the Penguins’ success by scoring the critical power-play goal in the third period, further enhancing their impressive streak of 14 goals with the man advantage over their last 13 games. The team has now enjoyed victory in seven of their past eight home games. In goal, Alex Nedeljkovic played a key role with 29 saves during his first start since December 17.
Kris Letang was sidelined due to a lower-body injury, which opened the door for Nathan Clurman to make his NHL debut as a defenseman. The Islanders stormed back in the third period with goals from Anders Lee and Bo Horvat, attempting to overturn a 3-0 deficit, but their efforts ultimately fell short.
On the other side, Marcus Hogberg endured a demanding night as he made 38 saves in his first starting appearance since April 28, 2021.
Takeaways from the game reveal that the Islanders have struggled, losing five of their last eight matches after splitting a back-to-back series against Pittsburgh. Conversely, the Penguins bounced back resiliently after a 6-3 loss to the Islanders just one day prior, marking their tenth win in 15 games following a challenging stretch that witnessed eight losses in ten games.
A defining moment in the game occurred when Crosby, positioned behind the net, delivered a slick backhand pass to Bunting, who capitalized with his seventh power-play goal just 1:36 into the second period, extending the lead to 2-0.
Looking ahead, both teams are set for another round of action on Tuesday. The Penguins will head to Detroit, while the Islanders will kick off a home-and-home series against Toronto.
