NHL EDGE stats behind Crosby setting Penguins points record

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we look at the advanced stats behind Sidney Crosby's continued scoring dominance after he passed Mario Lemieux for the most points in Pittsburgh Penguins history.

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Sidney Crosby is still near the top of his game at 38 years old, and his advanced stats prowess helped him surpass Mario Lemieux for the most points in Pittsburgh Penguins history.

Crosby's assist on Rickard Rakell's power-play goal against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday gave him 1,724 points in 1,387 career games to move ahead of Lemieux (1,723 points in 915 games) for eighth place on the NHL's all-time points list. Crosby, like his former teammate Lemieux, has spent his entire career with Pittsburgh.

Crosby, who's in his 21st NHL season, also scored his 20th goal of the season Sunday and is tied for the seventh most in the entire League. After setting the NHL record for most consecutive point-per-game seasons (20) last season, Crosby is in position to add another such campaign (37 points in 35 games this season; leads Pittsburgh) to his resume, which includes three Stanley Cup championships (2009, 2016, 2017) and two Conn Smythe Trophy wins (2016, 2017) as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Other major trophies Crosby has won in his illustrious career include the Art Ross Trophy twice (2007, 2014) as the NHL’s points leader in a single season, Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy twice (2010, 2017) as the League’s goal leader in a single season and Hart Trophy twice (2007, 2014) as MVP of the regular season.

Here are three underlying reasons for Crosby's continued offensive prowess:

1. Skating speed

Crosby isn’t slowing down at all in the later stages of his career; after games played on the day he passed Lemieux (Dec. 21), Crosby ranked in the 93rd percentile among forwards in 22-plus mph speed bursts (seven) this season. That already has exceeded his total in that same category from last season (five in 80 games). He also ranked highly among forwards in 20-plus mph speed bursts (78; 89th percentile) and max skating speed (22.86 mph; 87th percentile) this season after games played on the day he passed Lemieux.

2. Offensive zone time percentage

Crosby ranked in the 94th percentile among forwards in offensive zone time percentage (46.3) after games played on the day he passed Lemieux, and the Penguins ranked seventh in that category (41.7) as a team. Crosby also continues to shoulder a heavy workload; he ranked in the 94th percentile among forwards in total skating distance (108.88 miles) this season after games played on the day he passed Lemieux.

The Penguins, whose 4-3 shootout win against the Canadiens on Sunday ended their eight-game winless streak (0-4-4 in span), have been one of the bigger surprises in the NHL through the first two-plus months of the season. Pittsburgh, which missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, is only two points out of postseason position thanks to Crosby’s dominance and the team’s resiliency through some key injuries.

Crosby’s frequent linemate Rakell recently returned from injury but has been limited to 15 games this season. Crosby’s longtime sidekick Evgeni Malkin has had a strong start to the season (29 points in 26 games) but hasn’t played since Dec. 4 because of injury. Prior to the Penguins trading goalie Tristan Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers, he was also limited by injury.

3. High-danger prowess

Crosby’s goal against the Canadiens on Sunday was his 12th high-danger goal of the season, which was tied for fifth in the entire NHL after games played on the day he passed Lemieux. Crosby is also tied for fifth in the NHL in power-play goals (eight) this season and tied for seventh in wrist shot goals (10; League leaders have 12).

Crosby is also a standout in shots by location; after games played on the day he passed Lemieux, Crosby ranked in the 94th percentile among forwards in high-danger shots on goal (36) and 82nd percentile in midrange shots on goal (24). Last season, Crosby also thrived from high-danger zones, ranking in the 98th percentile among forwards in high-danger shots on goal (89) and 93rd percentile in high-danger goals (17).