PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin made history together on Wednesday night.

Crosby scored his 1,600th. point and Malkin scored his 500th goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

Crosby’s second assist on Bryan Rust’s power-play goal in the opening period made him one of only 10 players in NHL history with 1,600 points. Malkin’s great goal in the third period made him the 48th player with 500 goals.

Sidney Crosby became the tenth player in NHL history to score 1,600 points in the regular season, doing so in the fifth-fewest games.

It is the first time an NHL player has reached this milestone since Jaromir Jagr on October 6, 2011. pic.twitter.com/jBAFoBsArC

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 16, 2024

Fittingly, a sensational pass from Crosby set up Malkin’s goal.

EVGENI MALKIN RECEIVES THE NUMBER 500 AND THE PINS CLEAR THE BENCH TO CELEBRATE 🙌🚨 pic.twitter.com/uaz16DghGG

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 17, 2024

Crosby and Malkin have formed one of the most successful partnerships in NHL history. One of them has led the team in scoring every season since they became teammates in 2006-07, and they trail only Mario Lemieux in franchise goals and points.

Crosby and Malkin won the Hart (MVP), Art Ross (top scorer) and Conn Smythe (postseason MVP) trophies, respectively. They have each won the Art Ross twice. Crosby has won the Hart Trophy twice and Malkin has won the Calder Trophy (top rookie).

They were also the co-catalysts in the Penguins becoming the flagship of the NHL’s salary cap era. The Penguins ended a long playoff drought in Malkin’s rookie season, reached the Stanley Cup Final in the second year of the Crosby/Malkin era and won the Cup in 2009, 2016 and 2017.

The 2016-17 Penguins became the first team in 19 years to win consecutive Stanley Cup titles. The Penguins’ playoff streak of 16 consecutive seasons, which ended two years ago, remains the longest in the cap era.

Few duos can achieve the individual dominance of Crosby and Malkin with a franchise. But every player has also established himself as an absolute star.

This season, Crosby will likely pass Joe Sakic for ninth place on the all-time scoring list and could tie Wayne Gretzky with a points per game average for the most consecutive seasons.

Crosby and Gretzky averaged points per game in 19 seasons. Crosby needs 82 points if he plays in every game, as he has the last two seasons. He started the season needing just 46 points to overtake Sakic.

Crosby started this season eight goals shy of 600 for his career. If he reaches that total, Crosby will become just the ninth player with at least 600 goals and 1,600 points.

Malkin started this season two goals shy of .500 and four of 1,300 points – the latter of which only 36 players have scored overall. He also only had two assists per .800, a total of just 33 NHL players.

Required reading

(Photo: Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)