Crosby Passes Dionne for Sixth on NHL's All-Time Points List in Los Angeles

Sidney Crosby is sixth on the NHL’s all-time points list. The Pittsburgh captain’s 1,772nd career point came on a goal he barely touched, Evgeni Malkin’s one-timer deflecting off him at 17:13 of the second period in Los Angeles, NHL.com reports, moving him past Marcel Dionne’s 1,771. Crosby added an awarded empty-net goal for point 1,773 as the Penguins beat the Kings 5-2, ending a seven-game road losing streak.

How did Crosby pass Dionne?

On a deflection. Malkin wound up for a one-timer from the right circle off a setup from Erik Karlsson, and the puck caught a piece of Crosby on its way in, NHL.com reports. It made it 4-2 late in the second period, and it was initially credited to Malkin before the scorer switched it to Crosby, theScore reports.

That is the fitting part. Crosby has scored 660 goals in his career, and the one that moved him past a Hall of Famer was a goal he never shot. He had tied Dionne at 1,771 in Montreal on October 31, Gino Hard reports, and the wait for the next point lasted eight days, through a stretch in which he had scored one goal in his previous seven games. Then Malkin’s shot found him in the slot, and the record moved.

The second goal of the night was just as odd. Crosby was awarded a goal at 18:44 for the 5-2 final after he was impeded by Los Angeles defenseman Erik Gustafsson on a breakaway towards the empty net, NHL.com reports. It was his second multigoal game of the season, and it took his career total to 1,773 points, built on 660 goals and 1,113 assists in 1,437 games.

Why was Los Angeles the right place for it?

Because Dionne’s name belongs to that building. He played 12 seasons for the Kings, and Crosby said so himself after the game. “I mean, it was probably a little bit cooler because it was here,” he said, NHL.com reports, of passing a player who spent the prime of his career in Los Angeles.

Dionne finished with 1,771 points, 731 goals and 1,040 assists in 1,348 games, NHL.com reports. He was the Kings’ franchise player through the 1970s and early 1980s, and the milestone landing in his city gave the night a symmetry the Penguins’ road trip had not offered. Pittsburgh had lost seven straight on the road since a 7-0 win at Philadelphia in the season opener on September 30, and the record fell on the same night the streak ended.

What else happened in the Penguins’ win?

Plenty, and most of it belonged to the supporting cast. Tommy Novak scored twice in the first 5:10, opening the scoring 1:52 in by collecting a rebound at the edge of the left face-off circle, NHL.com reports. Egor Chinakhov made it 3-1 on a power play after a video review confirmed his wrist shot, and Malkin finished with three assists.

Malkin’s night carried its own milestone. His 1,421st career point, on 539 goals and 882 assists, moved him past Adam Oates into 20th on the NHL’s all-time scoring list, NHL.com reports. Sergei Murashov made 26 saves for his first win of the season, and the Penguins improved to 6-9-2 after losing four straight. Corey Perry and Alex Laferriere scored for the Kings, and Darcy Kuemper made 14 saves. Los Angeles forward Artemi Panarin appeared to tie the game 3-3 at 15:36, but Pittsburgh challenged for offside and the call was overturned after a video review.

How fast has Crosby climbed the list this season?

Faster than a 39-year-old is supposed to. He passed Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman for eighth and seventh on the all-time points list earlier in 2025-26, Daily Faceoff reports, then passed Joe Thornton for seventh on the all-time assists list on October 16, theScore reports. Dionne is the fourth name he has moved past this season, and the climb is the story of his year: he was flattened by a linesman in an overtime comeback win earlier this season, and he keeps adding lines to a record book that already has his name all over it.

The list above him now reads like a closed club. Ron Francis sits fifth at 1,798 points, and Crosby needs 26 more to pass him, Daily Faceoff reports. Above Francis are Gordie Howe at 1,850, Mark Messier at 1,887, Jaromir Jagr at 1,921 and Wayne Gretzky at 2,857, theScore reports. Francis is the only one within reach this season, and at Crosby’s current pace of 12 points in 17 games, the gap closes slowly. He has never finished a season producing less than a point per game, theScore reports, and that floor is what keeps the chase alive.

The company matters too. Alex Ovechkin announced this will be his final NHL season, and the two defining players of their generation are spending the same year climbing the same lists from opposite ends. Ovechkin chases goals, Crosby chases points, and the all-time points list now has Crosby alone in sixth with one name left to catch this season.

What did Crosby say about the milestone?

He talked about the win first. “Haven’t gone in easy, so yeah, just nice to get that one,” Crosby said, NHL.com reports. “Nice to get a win and have a good feeling here going into tomorrow (at the Anaheim Ducks).” Coach Dan Muse was less restrained: “Unbelievable,” he said of Crosby’s latest move up the record books. “Really happy for him, and, again, it seems like it’s every week, so just incredible.”

The point-per-game floor is the quieter record behind the headline. Crosby entered Saturday with 10 points in 16 games, and the two-goal night took him to 12 in 17. Nikita Kucherov tied a franchise points record of his own this season, but no active player is climbing a list as old as the one Crosby just moved up. Malkin, Letang and Crosby each recorded multiple points in the same game for the 37th time, and Pittsburgh improved to 36-1-0 in those contests, NHL.com reports.

What happens next?

Anaheim on Sunday night, then the slow chase of Ron Francis. The Penguins visit the Ducks to close the road trip, Gino Hard reports, and Crosby takes a 25-point gap into that game. Connor Bedard returned a month early for his captain’s debut against the Penguins earlier this season, and Pittsburgh’s next home dates will test whether the road win in Los Angeles was a turn or a pause. The record book says the next milestone is 26 points away, and the schedule says it will take weeks, not days.