These days, it feels like almost every Penguins game comes with another milestone. When you have three franchise icons who’ve played together for more than two decades, those moments tend to pile up. The names don’t even need repeating anymore — Pittsburgh fans know the trio by heart, and every night seems to bring something new from a group refusing to slow down.
The Penguins stormed out of the gate to start the 2025–26 season, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin turning back time and leading the league in goals and assists, respectively. But that early momentum didn’t last. By mid-November, Pittsburgh had slipped hard, struggling to string together wins and rapidly sliding down the standings.
Before their slump, the Penguins were rolling. Crosby looked like a Hart candidate, Malkin was dishing like a maestro, and the team played with the kind of tempo that defined their prime years. But frustration hit a breaking point when head coach Dan Muse used a single, blunt word to describe his team’s recent form. It was the kind of answer that tells you everything you need to know.
Nov 29, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates his goal with the Penguins bench against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Even after that moment, the results remained rough. Pittsburgh managed only four wins in the entire month of November — a staggering number for a team with this kind of talent and firepower. Two of those wins came after Muse’s public postgame frustration, including a 4–2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 26 and a 4–3 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 28.
Unfortunately, any hope of a turning point had to be put on hold a little longer. The Penguins followed their recent pair of victories with a 7–2 loss to GM Kyle Dubas’ former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto has dominated since Dubas joined Pittsburgh, winning eight of the last 10 matchups, and this may have been the Penguins’ worst loss yet. Crosby scored his 641st career NHL goal in the loss, surpassing Dave Andreychuk for 15th all-time.
SIMPLY SIDSATIONAL 🐧
Sidney Crosby is now 15th on the all-time goals list! pic.twitter.com/6tv9Ql5yAu
— NHL (@NHL) November 30, 2025
After the brutal loss, Crosby was asked how the Penguins could clean up their play moving forward. His response was measured and captain-calm, the kind of answer built on nearly two decades of leading a team through every high and low.
“Well, I think just focusing on making sure that the slot and the prime scoring areas, that we take care of that. Every team’s gonna have guys who are dangerous and they’re gonna be opportunistic, so you can’t give them chances of that quality and expect to win games. So I think just focus on our own end and let everything else kind of take care of itself.”
Sidney Crosby 🤝 Kris Letang
The long-time @penguins teammates combined on the same goal for the 310th time tonight. The only forward-defenseman duo to combine on more goals in NHL history is Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey (350). pic.twitter.com/zbsQ96D9Qo
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) November 29, 2025
Defense has never been one of Pittsburgh’s strengths, and with their top two defensemen among the oldest in the league, the strain shows. Kris Letang hasn’t delivered the consistency fans are used to. The flashes of brilliance — the speed, the edge work, the decision-making — are still there, but they come and go. If this veteran core wants one more true chance at a Stanley Cup, the entire blue line will need to elevate and start playing a lot more physically.
While the Penguins have been uneven, Crosby continues to play at an incredible level. With 16 goals already, he’s pacing toward what could be the highest goal-scoring season of his career. His lone 50-goal campaign came in 2009–10, when he had 109 points and scored 51 goals. Right now, he’s on pace to finish the 2025-26 season with 55 goals and 92 points.
Not only is Sidney Crosby on pace for a 21st straight point-per-game season, but he’s also on pace for a career high in goals 🤯
UNREAL longevity at age 38 🐐 (h/t @JoshYohe_PGH) pic.twitter.com/iGhmlzwBcJ
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) November 30, 2025
The milestones have piled up just as fast. He recently broke into the top 15 all-time in goals, passed Steve Yzerman for ninth in assists, and recorded his 500th multi-point game — becoming the third-fastest player ever to hit that mark. Now, he’s within single digits of something once thought impossible: passing Mario Lemieux in regular-season points.
Lemieux finished his career with 1,723 points in 915 games. Crosby, who recently reached 1700 points (video below), is quickly skating toward that number, climbing into eighth place on the NHL’s all-time list and approaching a moment that carries as much emotion as history.
Here’s how Sidney Crosby’s 1700th career point sounded on the Penguins Radio Network. pic.twitter.com/1KFXg9CpAw
— Penguins Radio Network (@penguinslive) October 28, 2025
For Penguins fans, this season is about more than wins and losses. It’s about watching three generational players continue to write chapters no one expected would still be coming 20 years later. It’s about appreciating the rarest thing in sports: greatness that stayed, grew, and kept producing together in one city.
When Crosby eventually passes Lemieux, it will be more than a milestone. It will be a reminder of an era Pittsburgh may never see again — and one fans should savor while it’s still unfolding.
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