CRANBERRY, Pa. -- It's not as if Sidney Crosby needs to hit another major milestone to secure his legacy.
Not when he has captained three Stanley Cup winners, earned two Olympic gold medals and done so much at such an elite level for so many years.
Fact is, the Hockey Hall of Fame could have begun working on Crosby's plaque back in the days when he had only a casual acquaintance with shaving cream and razor blades.
Even so, that doesn't detract from the significance of him being poised to become the 46th player in NHL history to score 500 regular-season goals.
"It's an unbelievable amount of goals," Brock McGinn said after practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex Wednesday. "Hopefully, he can get it soon."
Crosby has 497, and will have an opportunity to do that when the Penguins face the Kraken Thursday at 7:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.
Seattle is one of just three opponents against which he never has had a multiple-goal game -- Vegas and Arizona are the others -- but considering that Crosby has only faced the Kraken once, it might be a bit risky to read too much into that stat. Especially when he did have a goal and an assist in the lone game, a 6-1 victory at Climate Pledge Arena Dec. 6.
Crosby's teammates are predictably impressed by what he's about to achieve -- "Five hundred goals, that's hard to really fathom," Danton Heinen said -- and feats of that magnitude often kindle conversations in the locker room.
"I think guys have a good handle on where guys are," Heinen said.
While Crosby's teammates and coaches are aware of his goal-scoring ability, it might not be fully appreciated in some precincts around the NHL, mostly because of the many other aspects of the game in which he excels.
"I'm not sure I can speak for the rest of the hockey world, that doesn't have the privilege to see him as often as we do," Mike Sullivan said. "But certainly, his numbers, I think, speak for themselves. The fact that he's approaching that milestone, I think, is just an indication of his ability to score goals. That's a lot of goals in this league."
Or any other, for that matter.
Marcus Pettersson isn't much of a goal-scorer -- he has eight in 260 career games -- and brings a defenseman's sensibilities to his perspective on Crosby's goal-scoring.
"The big thing that stands out for me is how many ways he can score," Pettersson said. "He can score off the rush, and has a really good shot. He can tip pucks really well. He has his patented forehand tip. He can score off rebounds in front (because) he's so strong on his stick. Just the variety (of ways) in which he can score is really impressive."
So is the number of times he's done it.
MORE FROM THE PRACTICE
• Sullivan said he believes that goalie Casey DeSmith's disappointing season to date reflects "his own mindset and his confidence in his ability to play. These guys are all professional athletes. They're proud guys. They're also human, and when things don't go the right way, players get affected. It's our job, as a coaching staff, to help them through that process."
• Heinen, on having Evgeni Malkin as his center: "He moves the puck quick. He loves to make plays. He loves to try guys, one-on-one, the odd time. You try to put the puck in his hands and go to the net, because he'll find you."
• Former Penguins center Matt Cullen, now a member of their player-development staff, worked on the ice during the practice.
• McGinn added to the chorus of praise Tristan Jarry has received this season. "He keeps us in every game," McGinn said. "When we aren't playing our best, he's there to back us up and just keep us in games and give us a chance to win. He's our backbone right now."
• Personnel combinations:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen-Evgeni Malkin-Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn-Jeff Carter-Evan Rodrigues
Zach Aston-Reese-Brian Boyle-Dominik Simon
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
Mike Matheson-Chad Ruhwedel
Power play No. 1: Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Guentzel, Rust
Power play No. 2: Carter, Kapanen, Heinen, Marino, Rodrigues
