PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – His 499th was the game-winner on Tuesday, now Sidney Crosby looks for his 500th goal Thursday night at Ottawa.
"It's an unbelievable amount of goals, hopefully he will get that soon here," said forward Brock McGinn, he of 61 career goals.
It took Crosby 10 games to get from 399 to 400 goals and now he's moving into the 500-level class. It's where former Pens greats Joey Mullen at 502 career goals, Bryan Trottier at 524, Ron Francis at 549 and Mark Recchi at 577 live.
"Guys keep an eye on milestones," said forward Danton Heinen. "500 goals, I mean, that's hard to really fathom. That would be an unbelievable accomplishment."
Pens head coach Mike Sullivan has been with Crosby for 353 regular-season games since 2016, won a pair of Stanley Cup titles together.
"I just see an incredibly driven athlete that works extremely hard every day to be at his best," Sullivan said. "The Penguins are the benefactors of his passion for the game. He has incredible desire to be the best. He works extremely hard to keep his game at a high level and as a result he's been able to sustain an elite level of play."
It's harder to do it as you get older. It's not just the age with the accumulation of injuries and in a salary cap league, it's harder to keep the better players on your team.
"What I see is a more mature player," Sullivan said. "I think with all of the experiences that he's been through, some real positives in winning championships and gold medals. Then some disappointing ones where you don't have success. I think it offers the benefit of perspective, the importance of a lot of the subtilities of the game."
"His willingness to play on both sides of the puck is unmatched by star players around the league. I think he has the most mature game. His commitment to play on both sides of the puck because he understands the importance of that to win championships. That's what I see in Sid and the evolution of him as a player. He plays a smart, efficient game. His desire to be the best, I watch it every day. It's impressive."
"How detailed he is in everything, whether it's equipment or anything," Heinen said. "It kind of motivates you to push yourself, how much time he puts in. There are a lot of things he does that people don't see. It's pretty awesome to get a first-hand look at him."
"What stands out to me is how many ways he can score," said defenseman Marcus Pettersson. "He can score off the rush, has a really good shot, can tip pucks really well. Has his patented forehand tip. He can score off rebounds in front, he's so strong with his stick. The variety of which he can score is real impressive and it's fun to watch."
"The fact that he managed to get his shot off at different angles sometimes," said 16-year teammate, defenseman Kris Letang. "He's on one knee on the ice, he finds a way to get it there. He has a really high hockey IQ. He sees things we don't necessarily see. He's able to change his angle, there are so many things. He gets his shot off quick that can fool the goalie also. It's a combination of a lot of things."
"We have an appreciation of his game in all aspects," Sullivan said. "He's the standard-bearer for our team. He's the guy who drives the expectations and we are all held accountable to that, himself included."
