Penguins win 9-4; Crosby milestone

Sidney Crosby’s milestone in the game tied to Pittsburgh’s 9-4 win was not a new franchise record but another move up the NHL’s all-time scoring list. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Florida Panthers 9-4 on April 4, 2026, at PPG Paints Arena, and Crosby recorded two assists in the win. Those assists lifted Crosby to 1,756 career points, passing Steve Yzerman for seventh place in NHL history, according to the Associated Press recap carried by ESPN. Crosby had already become the Penguins’ all-time points leader months earlier, when he passed Mario Lemieux on December 22, 2025, the team said. ### Which game are people referring to when they cite the 9-4 score? The April 4, 2026 game was Pittsburgh’s 9-4 home win over Florida. ESPN’s recap of the AP report said Evgeni Malkin scored his 14th career hat trick and added an assist, while Erik Karlsson had a goal and three assists in the rout. Pittsburgh pulled away in the second period. ESPN’s recap said Anthony Mantha broke a 2-2 tie 1:51 into the second, Malkin scored twice in less than three minutes, and the Penguins poured in four goals in less than 10 minutes during the opening half of the period. ### What milestone did Crosby actually hit in that game? Crosby’s milestone in the 9-4 game was league-wide, not franchise-specific. (espn.com) The AP recap said his two assists moved him past Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman and into seventh place on the NHL career scoring list with 1,756 points. That distinction matters because the franchise mark had already fallen earlier in the season. (espn.com) The Penguins said on December 22, 2025 that Crosby passed Lemieux to become Pittsburgh’s all-time points leader with 1,724 points in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. ### When did Crosby become the Penguins’ all-time points leader? (espn.com) December 22, 2025 was the date of the franchise record. In its game story that night, Pittsburgh said Crosby moved past Lemieux in front of the home crowd and called the achievement “really special.” Crosby said in the team’s account that he had “a ton of respect for Mario and everything that he’s done for this team, and for hockey in general.” He added that Lemieux remained “No. 1” in his mind. (nhl.com) ### Why are some social posts describing the 9-4 game as the franchise-points moment? (nhl.com) Social posts appear to be combining two separate Crosby landmarks: the Penguins franchise record from December 2025 and the all-time NHL jump from April 4, 2026. The verified game recap for the 9-4 result identifies the April milestone as Crosby moving past Yzerman for seventh on the NHL list, while the Penguins’ own December report identifies the franchise record as the night he passed Lemieux. (nhl.com) That means the 9-4 scoreline is real, and Crosby’s milestone is real, but they refer to different levels of achievement than some reposts suggest. Based on the published recaps, the 9-4 game was about seventh place in NHL history, not the first time Crosby became Pittsburgh’s all-time points leader. ### Who else drove the result for Pittsburgh? (espn.com) Evgeni Malkin was the central scorer in the 9-4 win. ESPN’s recap said his hat trick was the 14th of his career, and his four-point night also made him the 23rd player in NHL history to reach 1,400 career points. Artur Silovs stopped 19 shots for Pittsburgh, and Noel Acciari and Elmer Soderblom each had a goal and an assist, the recap said. (espn.com) The same report said the teams were due to meet again on April 5, 2026, in a back-to-back at PPG Paints Arena.