Sidney Crosby picks up 1,033rd assist, tying Mario Lemieux's Penguins record

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is back in elite company and this time it's alongside his Hall of Fame former teammate.

Crosby tied Mario Lemieux's record for most assists in team history during the first period of Monday's 7-3 win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.

Philip Tomasino finished Crosby's backhand pass for a power-play goal at 17:44 of the first period, giving Pittsburgh a 4-1 lead and matching Lemieux's mark.

"I was just trying to take it to the net," Crosby said. "At the last second, I saw he was on the back door."

Crosby and Lemieux both have 1,033 assists, which ranks 12th in NHL history. Only three players in league history have more assists with a single team than Lemieux and Crosby.

"I didn't ever think about that," Crosby said. "I dreamed of playing in the NHL and I'm grateful for that for all these years, but I don't think about where I'm at on the list. To be with Mario, though, that's pretty cool. I never would have expected that. So, that's just a bonus."

Crosby scored an empty-net goal in the third period and assisted on goals by Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust in the first period to give him four points. It's Crosby's 42nd four-point game of his career -- and second in three games. Crosby has 10 goals and 39 points in 36 games this season.

"Mario's one of the greatest players of all time, as is Sid," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "There's very few players in the history of the game that have reached the milestones that Mario and Sid have reached."

Lemieux, who finished his Hall of Fame career with 1,723 points, led Pittsburgh to its first two Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 as a player and owned the team when Crosby captained the Penguins to championships in 2009, 2016 and 2017.

"I think it's one more piece of evidence to suggest that Sid is one of the very best players of all time and Mario is as well," Sullivan said. "Their legacies continue to grow."