Sidney Crosby turns 38: Reliving the Penguins star's top 10 moments over legendary NHL career

Sidney Crosby is 38. Yes, you read that right. Crosby, known for the majority of his iconic hockey career as "Sid the Kid," is now one of the NHL's elder statesmen as he gears up for his 21st season. 

Crosby, who has spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, has enjoyed a 20-year run that has more than lived up to the incredible hype that was placed upon him prior to his first NHL shift. While there are still more chapters to write, Crosby is already regarded as one of the greatest players to ever lace up the skates. 

Crosby's long list of accomplishments includes being an eight-time All-Star, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, a two-time winner of the Hart, Art Ross, Conn Smythe, and Maurice Richard trophies, a three-time Ted Lindsay Award winner, and a member of the NHL 100th Anniversary Team.

In recognition of his birthday, here's a ranking of the top 10 moments of Crosby's incredible NHL career so far. 

Honorable mention: Coming up clutch in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final 

While the Penguins ultimately lost the series to the Red Wings, Crosby's assist late in Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final still deserves a mention as it played a key role in what is still the sixth-longest game in Cup history. It is also an example of Crosby's ability to come through in the clutch. 

Leading by a goal with less than a minute left in regulation, the sellout crowd Detroit was counting down the seconds before their Red Wings would hoist the Stanley Cup. But instead of witnessing a celebration, the crowd watched in stunned silence after Crosby and Marian Hossa assisted on Maxime Talbot's tying goal. 

With the Red Wings trying to clear the puck, Crosby kept possession in Detroit's zone before finding Hossa, who lofted a pass that Talbot got past goaltender Chris Osgood. The teams then engaged in two scoreless overtime periods before Petr Sykora delivered the game-winner midway through the third overtime.

10. An incredible rookie season 

It didn't take long for Crosby to make an impact. At 18, Crosby tallied his first career point (an assist to teammate Mark Recchi) in his first game to start off a memorable rookie season that saw him register 102 points, the fifth-most in the league that season. 

One of Crosby's most memorable moments that year took place in a mid-November game against the rival Flyers in Philadelphia. Crosby assisted on the game's first goal, scored the game's second goal and then scored the game-winner in overtime. 

As good as his rookie season was, Crosby finished behind Washington's Alexander Ovechkin for Rookie of the Year honors. It was a fitting result given the rivalry the two generational talents have shared over the past two decades. 

9. Winter Classic-winning goal

As far as individual moments are concerned, Crosby's game-winning shootout goal against the Buffalo Sabres in the first NHL Winter Classic is an all-time classic. After assisting on Pittsburgh's only goal in regulation, Crosby silenced the partisan crowd of 71,217 fans after putting the puck between goaltender Ryan Miller's legs and into the back of the net, lifting Pittsburgh to a 2-1 win. 

8. Youngest scoring champion 

Crosby built off of his impressive rookie season with an even better sophomore campaign. During the 2006-07 season, Crosby became the youngest player in NHL history to lead the league in scoring after he tallied a career high 120 points. 

Crosby's success that season led to him winning his first Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the league's most valuable player. It also coincided with the Penguins making the playoffs for the first time in six years. That year marked the first of 16 consecutive playoff seasons for Pittsburgh. 

This season was also notable in that it marked the first time that Crosby wore the captain's "C" on his jersey. 

7. Foiling the Flyers 

The Penguins' series-clinching win over the Flyers in Game 6 of the first round of the 2009 playoffs is most remembered for Talbot's shush to the crowd after his fight that appeared to spearhead the Penguins' comeback from a 3-0 deficit. But Crosby also played a key role as he scored the tying and clinching goals as Pittsburgh eliminated its rival. 

That game pretty much sums up Crosby's career against Philadelphia. No player in NHL history has scored more points or goals against the Flyers. 

6. Capital punishment 

The Penguins-Capitals showdown in the second round of the 2009 playoffs was a defining moment in the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry. After dropping the first two games, Crosby and the Penguins rallied to win three straight before losing in overtime at home in Game 6. 

In Washington for Game 7, Marc-Andre Fleury set the tone early with a glove save on Ovechkin. Crosby capitalized moments later when he buried a deflected pass past Semyon Varlamov for the game's first goal. Crosby's goal set off an avalanche of points for the Penguins, who raced out to a 5-0 lead midway through the second. It was 5-1 when Crosby scored Pittsburgh's final goal of the night early in the third. 

The Penguins went onto capture their first Stanley Cup since 1992, defeating the Red Wings in a thrilling seven-game series. While Crosby played a key role in the championship, the Conn Smythe Award was given to his teammate, Evgeni Malkin, who scored a whopping 36 points during the postseason. 

5. Back on top 

It's hard to believe now, but there was a point when many feared that Crosby's career would end prematurely after he suffered several head injures in 2011. After playing in just 22 games during the 2011-12 season, Crosby missed more time during the 2012-13 season after breaking his jaw. 

Crosby returned to form the following season, however, leading the NHL in both assists (68) and points (104) en route to winning his second Art Ross Trophy in addition to the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award. 

4. Passing "The Great One"

Along with having his career record for goals scored broken by Ovechkin, Wayne Gretzky saw another one of his records broken during the 2024-25 season. On March 27, Crosby clinched his 20th consecutive season averaging at least one point a game after scoring a goal against the Sabres. Gretzky had accomplished that feat in 19 straight seasons.

"Consistency and work ethic and passion ... it's a responsibility that you have to each other," Crosby said after topping Gretzky. "I think that consistency, it's always a work in progress. Every day is not perfect. There are times that are more difficult than others during the year. I always try to keep that in mind. But that doesn't mean you're not going to have bad days or days where you're not at your best, but you try not to let them bunch together."

3. Crosby wins Conn Smythe as Pens win back-to-back Cups 

While he is one of best goal scorers in NHL history, Crosby has been even more productive at setting up his teammates. He's currently tied for 16th all-time in goals scored and is 10th in career assists. 

Given those stats, it's fitting that the Penguins' third and most recent Stanley Cup included several big assists from Crosby during the postseason. He assisted on Chris Kunitz's goal that gave Pittsburgh a win over Ottawa in Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final. And in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, Crosby tallied three assists in Pittsburgh's win over the Nashville Predators. Pittsburgh then won Game 6 to become the NHL's first repeat champion in 19 years.  

2. Crosby leads Pens to 2016 Stanley Cup 

After several disappointing playoff results, Crosby and the Penguins got back to the mountaintop in 2016, capturing their first Stanley Cup in seven years. In the process, Crosby won his first Conn Smythe Trophy after making several big plays during Pittsburgh's run through the playoffs. 

Arguably the biggest goal of Crosby's career occurred during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final. After losing Game 1 to the Lightning, the Penguins raced out to a 2-0 lead in Game 2 before allowing two unanswered goals. The game ultimately went into overtime, where Crosby delivered the game-winner just 40 seconds into the extra session. Crosby buried his shot that was set up by Bryan Rust on the left wing. 

After defeating the Lightning in a grueling seven-game series, the Penguins entered Game 6 of their Stanley Cup Final showdown with the Sharks with a 3-2 series lead. In what was ultimately the series clincher for Pittsburgh, Crosby assisted on longtime teammate Kris Letang's game-winning goal in the second period and on Patric Hornqvist's empty-net tally in the final minutes. 

1. The Golden Goal 

Part of Crosby's legacy is his success playing for Team Canada. He is a combined 48-6-1, including two Olympic gold medals, gold medals in the IIHL World Championship (2015) and the World Cup of Hockey (2016), and a victory in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off. Team Canada won 26 consecutive games with Crosby from 2010-25. 

Crosby's greatest moment while playing for Team Canada -- and arguably his greatest moment as a professional hockey player -- occurred against Team USA in the gold medal game in the 2010 Olympics. In overtime, Crosby lifted his team to victory when he took Jarome Iginla's pass and rifled it past Ryan Miller. 

While the goal didn't do anything to endear himself to Team USA fans, it did elevate Crosby's stature as being one of Canada's all-time great players, a fraternity that also includes Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe.