Crosby is “just really grateful” for his longevity and has scored nearly 600 NHL goals with the Penguins

ELMONT, N.Y. – Sidney Crosby's memory of his first NHL goal is spot on.

“I was just hanging around the side of the net against Boston,” Crosby told NHL.com after the Pittsburgh Penguins practiced at UBS Arena on Wednesday.

Before Crosby reached the side of the net, he caught a bench pass from the end boards below the right faceoff circle. He turned and brought the puck into the circle. He pushed it to Mark Recchi in the slot. He followed his pass to the net.

“There was a big crowd and 'Rex' was looking for it,” Crosby said. “Brian Leetch, I think, tried to poke it into the scrum and pushed it to the side.

Recchi said: “I just gave it to him on the side. I just forwarded it there to him.”

Crosby scored the power play goal against the Boston Bruins on October 8, 2005 at 18:32 of the second period. It was his third NHL game. He was 18 years old.

Pittsburgh's No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft will make his 1,287th on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, SN-PIT). game against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Crosby has scored 598 goals, two shy of becoming the 21st player in NHL history to score 600 goals. He is 37 years old.

If he doesn't hit .600 in Carolina, maybe he will on Friday when the Penguins visit Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

Ovechkin is the only other active player in the 600-goal club, a group and a milestone that Crosby never imagined possible for himself, especially that night at the old Mellon Arena when he made his way to the 600 goals mark.

“I didn’t know how long I was going to play,” Crosby said. “You just try to make the most of the opportunity because you really don't know how it's going to turn out, how long you're going to play. I’m just really grateful, to be honest.”

Crosby vividly remembers the feeling he had when he scored against the Bruins.

“Just joy,” he said. “I mean, you dream of scoring the first goal and it took me a few games to do that. “I had a really good impression on my first shift (in my NHL debut) against New Jersey in the slot against Marty Brodeur and didn't score a goal there.” Just nice to get it early and home.

He also felt relieved.

“Oh yeah, big deal,” Crosby said. “You put so much pressure on yourself to perform and be good, and there are a lot of expectations.”

There are still high expectations for Crosby, who even at 37 is expected to be the player to lead the Penguins back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after sitting out on the fringes of the NHL postseason for two straight seasons.

What's notable is that Crosby is still doing everything he can to at least give Pittsburgh a chance.

He starts Thursday with a three-game scoring streak (five goals). He has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 14 games this season. He scored 42 goals and had 94 points last season, 33 and 93 in the 2022-23 season.

“He just keeps going,” Recchi said. “He’s really fun to watch. It's up to him how long he wants to play, how he takes care of himself and how good he is. It’s amazing to continue to score like that and reach these numbers.”

As is his consistency.

Crosby scored his 100th goal in his 219th NHL game. It only took him 178 games to go from 100 to 200, which was his fastest 100-goal mark. It took him 227 games to go from 200 to 300, 218 games to go from 300 to 400, and 239 to go from 400 to 500, which he achieved on February 15, 2022.