Sidney Crosby is not the only Pittsburgh Penguins player looking to set big scoring marks this season.
The biggest thing Pittsburgh Penguins fans are watching over the next handful of games is when Sidney Crosby will get one more point to secure his 20th consecutive point-per-game season, breaking a record previously held by Wayne Gretzky. It is not going to get much fanfare around the league, or perhaps even from the league itself, and it is not really something that has ever really been on anybody’s radar until recently, but it is still an incredible accomplishment. Like I have said here before regarding it, it is perhaps the best objective, numbers-based testament to Crosby’s dominance and consistency that he has been able to produce at this level for two decades in the NHL. Especially since a significant part of his career took place during one of the lowest-scoring eras in league history, and when point-per-game seasons were nearly unheard of.
In short: It is still a really big deal.
But that is not the only big milestone Penguins players are aiming for over the next couple of weeks.
His current linemates — Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell — also have some big numbers they are trying to reach for themselves.
Let’s start with Rust.
He has scored four goals in the Penguins’ past three games, bringing him to 26 for the season in only 62 games.
That leaves him two goals away from matching his career high (28) and four goals away from his first ever 30-goal season.
The biggest thing that has kept Rust from reaching the 30-goal mark is the simple fact he has never really played in enough games to get there. He has consistently scored at a rate that would easily reach 30 goals (and more), but injuries (and shortened seasons) have kept getting in the way.
These are his per-82 game paces going back to the start of the 2019-20 season:
2019-20: 40.2 goal pace (27 goals in 55 games)
2020-21: 32.2 goal pace (22 goals in 56 games)
2021-22: 32.8 goal pace (24 goals in 60 games)
2022-23: 20.2 goal pace (20 goals in 81 games)
2023-24: 37.1 goal pace (28 goals in 62 games)
It is kind of unfair to have that sort of luck. He has also missed his share of games this season, and with 26 goals in 62 games is on a 34.3 goal pace per 82 games.
Rust has been an unexpected great Penguin during his career. He arrived as a third-round pick that almost nobody would have had high expectations for, made his debut as a depth-piece, and then quickly became one of the young players that injected new life, speed and energy into a team that had gotten stale. He quickly developed a knack for scoring big goals in big moments for Stanley Cup winning teams, and eventually turned himself into a bonafide top-line player that can contribute all over the lineup. He is a great success story for the Penguins player development in the mid-2010s, and a great success story for himself to turn himself into an outstanding NHL player. Because of that, I really hope they help him get four more goals over the next nine games.
I think they will.
Rakell is also going for a new career high in goals, entering play on Tuesday night with 32 goals for the season and just two away from his previous career high of 34 goals and three away from setting a new personal best.
Rakell’s performance has been one of the few very pleasant surprises for the Penguins this season.
After a down 2023-24, his contract was looking like it had a chance to be a really bad deal on the books, and perhaps one that would be difficult to get out of.
The combination of the rising salary cap in the seasons ahead, as well as his production and performance, has for the time being changed that outlook.
They could probably easily move him this offseason if they wanted, and if they didn’t they should at least have some reason to believe he can still be a productive player over the next few years.
It is also going to be kind of fascinating to watch unfold.
Rakell has spent three full seasons with the Penguins (and about two months of a fourth season).
In two of those full seasons (and the two-month stretch after he was acquired) he was one of the Penguins’ best and most productive players. He was great after the trade deadline in 2021-22. He was outstanding in 2022-23. He has been outstanding this season. He was mostly invisible in 2023-24.
I know his shooting percentage has spiked this season and is likely to regress next season, but I am also not convinced it is going to regress so much that he ceases to be productive. Even his career average shooting percentage would have him on a 25-goal pace this season I would take that. Every team in the league would take that. Because I can promise you, you’re not finding a 25-goal scorer on the open market, with future league-wide salary caps of $95 and $105 million for less than $5 million per season.
The Crosby-Rust-Rakell line has been a great source of offense this season, and there is a very clear chemistry between all of them. They have been the biggest bright spots, and now all of them have a very real chance to set personal milestones over the next nine games.