Penguins Locker Room: Malkin & Crosby Revel in Emotional Milestones

Sidney Crosby sat in his locker stall about 15 feet away from where Evgeni Malkin was holding court with the assembled throng of reporters. With a calm, somewhat bemused look on his face, he soaked in the moment as he watched Malkin bask in the spotlight. Wednesday, Malkin scored his 500th career goal, and Crosby became just the 10th player in NHL history to score 1600 points.

Both received ceremonial milestone pucks.

And they helped the Pittsburgh Penguins rally from a 3-1 and 5-4 deficit to beat the Buffalo Sabres in overtime, 6-5 at PPG Paints Arena. In an end befitting a Disney movie with a rising score, Crosby scored the game-winner in overtime, using his signature drop to one knee to deflect the puck into the net.

Because the Penguins got the happy water of two points, they could relax after the game and enjoy the type of milestone night we may never see again. Malkin became just the second Russian-born player to score 500 goals (Alex Ovechkin), and the momentous occasion was not lost on him. And he had some of his customary humor to go with it.

“My parents sent me my message. It’s not easy, and it’s a long way to score 500, but I’m glad to do it tonight. Finally, now I’m more relaxed and calmer,” said Malkin. “But for the first time, I want to say something about myself: I’m proud of myself. It’s a really great number for me. From my hometown in Russia, Magnitigursk … and the second Russian (to score 500).

“I work hard. Everyday people probably don’t understand it’s sometimes not easy for me. It’s a great story. Sid passed it to me. It’s amazing — I love it, and congrats to myself.”

Yes, the last part was said with a crooked smile and Malkin’s full tongue-in-cheek humor.

Malkin, 38, is also the third member of the Penguins organization to score 500 goals, behind only Crosby and Mario Lemieux.

The goal harkened to the days gone by when Crosby and Malkin would routinely do things that were anything but routine, the games in which they defied description and reinvented what was thought possible, cutting and slicing past defenders to light goal lamps in arenas across the league.

It’s a long way from “Three years, Super League,” the now-immortalized phrase that Malkin uttered to Crosby when the pair were deciding who would go last out of the tunnel for the pregame warmup back in 2006. And Malkin has exploded onto the ice last ever since.

It’s also a long way from little Russian town and that Finnish airport escape that allowed Malkin to bolt his KHL team and join the Penguins for the 2006-07 season.

“We’re 100% good friends, for sure. And we text each other all summer … Like, in practice, we play against each other sometimes. We’ll play 5v5, we’ll face off against each other, and we always push each other,” Malkin said. “We like what we’ve done here. We’ve probably won everything. And this is where we work every day and push each other.”

Crosby, 37, sat in his stall in workout gear following the pair’s national TV interviews. His massive tree-trunk legs that rival the size of an average human’s waist were on full display. Those are the legs that have carried him to milestones achieved only by the game’s immortals, now including him. He remains 10th all-time in scoring and trails Joe Sakic for ninth by just 39 points and eighth place Lemieux by 121 points.

However, Crosby didn’t get to play in the offensive salad days of the 1980s when even good players reached 40 goals and defensemen were large, lumbering skaters who delivered as many slashes and hooks as stops.

Crosby defined the 21st-century era, inspiring uncounted scores of NHL players and legions of youth hockey players, such as Utah Hockey Club’s Logan Cooley, who learned to play hockey as a small child as part of Crosby’s annual youth program and made it to the NHL. There are countless others whose bedroom walls featured Crosby posters.

Crosby and Malkin have defined this Penguins era. Their jerseys will someday hang in the rafters beside Lemieux’s and Jaromir Jagr’s iconic numbers. They knew the significance of their chase and have been trying—and coach Mike Sullivan has been trying by getting them on the ice together—to reach hallowed grounds together.

“Going into the last few games, I wanted to find a way (to assist on Malkin’s 500th goal). Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Obviously, we don’t play together in the line that often,” Crosby said. “So, whether it’s a powerplay or that sort of thing, I was hoping that I’d have an opportunity to try to find him, and it worked out. You know, he set me up so nicely for my 500th, and I was hoping I could return the favor. His was a little more work than mine- just a beautiful goal and a huge goal for us, too.”

But in classic fashion, Crosby talked more about Malkin.

The pair got their wish. Malkin joined Crosby on the scoresheet for No. 1600 and Crosby assisted on Malkin’s 500th. It’s only fitting for the NHL’s version of Butch and Sundance, a pair of generational superstar players who have defied age, expectations, and sometimes even physics to delight and thrill hockey fans for nearly 20 years together.

Their friendship and teammate status far exceed the average length of a marriage and figure to last for at least another season beyond this one. Of course, if Malkin continues to maintain his current level of play, perhaps that bond will stretch beyond the end of Malkin’s current contract, which expires after the 2025-26 season.

Sullivan, who has had the pair for nearly 10 years, has run out of descriptions.

“I couldn’t be prouder of them and happier for them. What they’ve accomplished here in Pittsburgh is remarkable, and they just keep racking up more milestones as they continue to play,” Sullivan said. “I thought Geno’s goal with Sid being a part of it was appropriate given the years that they played together. It was a pretty emotional moment for our whole team.”

Indeed, the team lept from the bench to congratulate Malkin.

And so the milestones are finally behind them. Malkin admitted the dynamic duo talked about them this summer. He hinted that the chase may have added a little pressure, and now they can breathe easier. Of course, it’s much easier to do that when the team shows the resilient spirit that has been gone for some time.

For another perfect moment, the story continued. Malkin and Crosby were the heroes. And that little smirk on Crosby’s face, as he sat alone in his locker stall watching Malkin succumb to the moment and begin to appreciate the accomplishment truly, told the tale. Crosby understood the moment as well.

“He came over in my second year, but I just waited patiently for him to come over and hoped that it was sooner than later and just having the opportunity to watch him prior to that, knowing how good he was — he just seemed special right from the start. Yeah, I did envision (we would be close),” said Crosby. “I was hoping that it would work out as it has, and I’m super grateful for it. I think that whether it’s moments like tonight or other things that we’ve shared, good and bad, it’s been pretty incredible to be part of our team and play with him over that amount of time.”

It sure is a long way from “Three years, Super League.”