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Crosby passes Lemieux as Penguins' all-time points leader

Joe Sargent / National Hockey League / Getty

Sidney Crosby stands alone as the Pittsburgh Penguins' all-time points leader after passing Mario Lemieux on Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Crosby recorded the historic point - No. 1,724 - with an assist in the first period, moments after he tied the record with a goal.

The record-tying goal:

And the record-breaking assist:

"It's really special to be here as long as I have been," Crosby said between periods on SportsNet Pittsburgh.

"I obviously have a ton of respect for Mario and everything that he's done for this team and for hockey in general so it's pretty special."

Since Crosby has played his entire career with the Penguins and Lemieux did the same, Crosby also passed Lemieux for sole possession of eighth place on the NHL's all-time points list.

Rank Player Points
1 Wayne Gretzky 2857
2 Jaromir Jagr 1921
3 Mark Messier 1887
4 Gordie Howe 1850
5 Ron Francis 1798
6 Marcel Dionne 1771
7 Steve Yzerman 1755
8 Sidney Crosby 1724*
9 Mario Lemieux 1723
10 Alex Ovechkin 1654*

* still active

The Penguins played a message from Lemieux over the jumbotron shortly after Crosby broke his record.

Four of the top 10 scorers in league history played at least a portion of their careers in Pittsburgh (Jagr, Francis, Crosby, and Lemieux).

It took Crosby 1,387 games to pass Lemieux, who made 915 appearances in his career.

Lemieux had held the Penguins' points record for 37 years, surpassing Rick Kehoe in 1989. In addition to Crosby and Lemieux, Kehoe has since been passed by Jagr, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.

Lemieux remains Pittsburgh's all-time goals leader with 690 - 45 ahead of Crosby's 645 career tallies.

Crosby, 38, is signed through next season but hasn't made proclamations about his playing future beyond that. He's won three Stanley Cups, two Conn Smythe Trophies, and two Hart Trophies during his storied 21-year career.

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