Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins earned a much-needed win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday night, and the captain made history in the process.

The longtime Pens captain registered a goal and an assist — both on the powerplay — in a 4-3 victory against the visiting Wild. In the process, Crosby passed former teammate Mark Recchi for 13th on the National Hockey League's all-time points list.

With points No. 1,534 and 1,535, the three-time Stanley Cup champion is now just 1,322 points back of Wayne Gretzky for the all-time record. It's probably safe to say that that's a number Crosby –nor anyone else — will ever reach.

Still, he's is up to 568 goals and 967 assists for 1,535 total regular-season points through 1,220 games.

The Halifax, Nova Scotia native said after he had no idea that he had passed Recchi on the list, a teammate he played with for parts of five NHL seasons. Recchi won three Stanley Cups in his career; with the Penguins in 1991, the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, and the Boston Bruins in 2011.

Up next for Crosby is Joe Thornton, who is sitting in 12th place on the all-time list with 1,539 points in his career. After that, it's Ray Bourque (1,579) and Phil Esposito (1,590).

Crosby trying to carry Penguins back to a playoff spot in 2023-24

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Despite Crosby's continued excellence, the Penguins are struggling mightily in 2023-24. After acquiring Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks over the summer, the expectations were that this team would return to the postseason next April.

Instead, Pittsburgh is in jeopardy of missing the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since Sid The Kid was drafted. The Pens are just 14-13-3 and currently sit in second last place in the Metropolitan Division.

The hope is that this roster can turn things around, and that began with a tight 4-3 victory over the Wild. Crosby was the catalyst again, scoring the game-winning goal on the powerplay 6:20 into the final frame.

Despite the club's lack of success, Sidney Crosby continues to produce offensively. He's on pace for 90 points this year, and if that holds up, he could crack the all-time top-10 before the end of the season.