Canadian Olympic gold medalist Sidney Crosby of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia became the 32nd player in National Hockey League history to record 800 career assists on Tuesday. Crosby accomplished the feat on a goal by Jason Zucker in a 7-3 Penguins win over the Ottawa Senators.
Crosby finished the evening with one goal and two assists for three points. He was a +3 with one game winning goal, one power play point and six shots on goal in 20 minutes and 44 seconds of ice time.
Crosby is currently second among active players in assists. Canadian Olympic gold medalist Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks currently has 1088 assists. Thornton, a native of London, Ontario, is seventh all-time. Crosby and Thornton each won a gold medal for Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Crosby won again at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
The all-time leader in the NHL in assists is Wayne Gretzky of Brantford, Ontario, who had 1963 assists with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers from 1979 to 1999. With all of the NHL awards out there, it is ridiculous that there is not a NHL award for the player with the most assists in a single season. That needs to be the Wayne Gretzky Award.
The Penguins are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division. With a record of 38 wins, 21 regulation losses and six losses in extra time, they have 82 points. The Penguins are in a playoff spot by seven points over the Carolina Hurricanes.
