Crosby's latest milestone 'might be the most special'

It would have been difficult to script it any better.

Sidney Crosby entered Tuesday night's game at PPG Paints Arena one goal shy of the 500-goal milestone. After scoring No. 499 in Boston a week ago, Crosby went goalless in the Penguins' games in Ottawa and Newark, setting the stage for the milestone tally to come in front of the home crowd against the rival Flyers.

With the game knotted up at one goal apiece late in the first period, Jake Guentzel drew an interference minor out of the Flyers' Justin Braun.

Less than a minute into the Penguins' man advantage, Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim put a clearing attempt right onto the stick of Evgeni Malkin. Malkin sent the pass across the ice to Crosby, who fired a shot that went off of the body of goaltender Carter Hart and in.

The Penguins' bench emptied in celebration:

"I was just happy and excited," Crosby said of his emotions in that moment. "A lot of fun to be able to do it at home, and with all the guys coming on the ice like that, that's something I'll definitely always remember."

Kris Letang said that the decision to clear the bench and celebrate with Crosby wasn't something they had discussed doing prior to the goal, but rather something that came naturally in the moment.

"Knowing Sid, the type of person he is, he wants his teammates around him," Letang said. "I think he wanted to remember that goal with everybody around him on the ice."

Mike Sullivan said that it gave him "goosebumps" to not only see the goal, but see that reaction from his teammates:

"I was just so happy for Sid," Sullivan said. "You know, I just think it's an indication of how his teammates feel about him, and what he means to this organization and what he means to this team."

It was fitting that Malkin was credited with the lone assist on the goal. Crosby has had 107 different players record assists on his 500 goals, and after 16 years together, nobody has set up Crosby more than Malkin. Malkin's latest assist was his 109th assist on a Crosby goal:

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"I think it was so appropriate that Geno was the primary assist on the on the goal," Sullivan said. "I think the only the only thing that could add it to it was if Tanger found a way to touch it before Geno made the play."

Letang found his own way to add to Crosby's night.

After the Flyers scored three goals in the second period, Guentzel and Chad Ruhwedel scored third-period goals18 seconds apart to force overtime.

Just 31 seconds into the overtime period, Letang forced a turnover with a pokecheck, creating a 2-on-1 rush up the other way with Crosby. He looked at Crosby as the two were skating into the Flyers' end, in what he later said was an attempt to fool Hart into thinking he'd be setting up Crosby for goal No. 501. Letang took a no-look shot that beat Hart, completing the comeback and ensuring that the Flyers wouldn't spoil Crosby's night.

"Everybody wanted to get it for him," Letang said with a big smile after the win.

The goal and the win were made all the more special for Crosby by being able to share it with his parents, Troy and Trina. At the first television timeout after the goal, the in-arena videoboard played a video tribute recognizing the milestone. The camera cut to a shot of Crosby's parents in the stands, with his father looking like he was shedding a few tears at the moment.

I asked Crosby about much it meant to him to be able to share this moment with his parents. He noted that his parents haven't been able to make it out to many games over the last two seasons, and that they've been "living out of a suitcase" for a couple of weeks now, traveling around with him so they could be there for the milestone.

"It's just important to be able to share that with them," he said. "They've been there for some pretty cool things over the years, pretty cool experiences and this is another one to add. ... To share it with them and everybody here on home ice, I think that definitely meant a lot."

The Flyers even applauded Crosby on the ice after the video at the television timeout, with some players tapping their sticks on the ice and along the boards for him. Hart gave Crosby props for the achievement in his postgame interview.

"Obviously, we didn't want him to score," Hart said. "But kudos to him. He's one of the best, if not the best players of this generation. I mean, the guy's a really skilled player. And playing against him is a lot of fun, and you want to play against the best. He's one of the best players, and you've got to play hard against him every time."

Flyers head coach Mike Yeo, who was an assistant coach in Pittsburgh for Crosby's first five years in the league, prefaced his comments afterward by saying that he wished Crosby would have gotten No. 500 against someone else. 

"He's an incredible player, and I definitely am very grateful to have the chance to have coached him," Yeo added.

Sullivan called it an "incredible journey" to be able to coach the Penguins and Crosby in particular.

"First and foremost, he's just such a terrific person," Sullivan said. "For me, it's a lot of fun to work with him and develop a partnership with him and our leadership group over the time that I've been here. I've had the privilege of seeing a fair amount of milestones over this time here with respect to Sid, I thought tonight might be the most special one."

Crosby becomes just the 46th player in NHL history to reach the 500-goal mark. He's the 18th player to score their first 500 goals with one franchise. He's the second player to score 500 with the Penguins -- joining just Mario Lemieux -- and the second active player to score 500 goals -- joining Alex Ovechkin.

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Crosby, asked what this latest milestone means to him, said that it was hard to put into words.

"I think just being able to be part of some great teams over the years play with some great players," he said of reaching this mark. "It's a cool number. You look at guys who have scored 500 goals, I think it's just a privilege to be part of that company. I appreciate the opportunity to play this long in the league."