93.7 The Fan (PITTSBURGH) - When he spoke to the media on Thursday about facing his former teammate Marc-André Fleury, Sidney Crosby said that he had to score against him for bragging rights, as it could be the final time he faces Fleury.
Crosby not only scored against Fleury, he passed Mark Recchi for sole possession of 21st all-time in goals scored with his 578th goal.
Crosby passed Recchi when the Penguins tied the game against the Wild on a power play goal. Erik Karlsson slapped a shot right at Crosby's stick to the side of the net, and he put it past Fleury to tie the game.
Crosby has been on fire against Minnesota in his last eight games, he has scored 7 goals and recorded 9 assists for a total of 16 points in those games.
After Crosby tied it, controversy struck. Minnesota broke the tie as Kirill Kaprizov scored with 10:26 to play in the game. The controversy was Pittsburgh thought the puck went up into the netting before the goal was scored, which would indicate a stoppage of play and wipe the goal off. Mike Sullivan challenged but it was determined a good goal.
"Most of the guys on the ice felt like it hit the net," Crosby said. "It sucks on being on the wrong side of some of these challenges. Why do the replay if you're not going to get it right? I know some things are tough but if you're gonna have the rule that you can review one into the net, then get a view that shows it."
On the night where he was honored for his historic career, Fleury came up huge in the final two minutes of the game, as the Penguins were on the power play after a high stick from the Wild.
The Penguins had plenty of chances on the power play, but were unable to get the puck past Fleury as he saved three shots on net. The Wild blocked six shots in the final two minutes helping Fleury in front of the net.
Fleury finished the night with 34 saves in the win.
"He made some pretty big saves, obviously we pushed pretty hard there late," said Crosby. "You always know he's gonna compete and battle. You still ultimately want to get the two points. Obviously it was a really nice ceremony before the game, I thought they did a great job recognizing what he's accomplished. It's great to be a part of that but you still want to have the bragging rights at the end of the night."
Pittsburgh travels to Winnipeg Saturday for a 7 p.m. puck drop against the Jets.