It’s done! As they say, nothing is constant, as Sidney Crosby has demonstrated, surpassing another Wayne Gretzky record. Alex Ovechkin might be in hot pursuit of the blockbuster one, but in the shadow of that chase, Crosby’s feat is no small achievement either. Because the Penguins captain has now completed his 20th season, where he’s averaged a point per game, beating Gretzky’s record of 19 seasons. With the 37-year-old Crosby showing no signs of slowing down, we might even be looking at 20+ seasons! But Crosby wasn’t letting himself get carried away.

First off, well, even though it was a record-breaking night for The Next One, the Penguins unfortunately fell to the Buffalo Sabers, all while shipping 7 goals in the process. Despite the record-setting point, it wasn’t enough to rally the team as the game ended 7-3. While his achievement was a big talking point, Crosby, however, remained calm about the fact after the loss. Well, that’s the attitude that makes him the captain, right?

When asked about it in the post-game interview, Crosby replied, “It’s hard right now after a loss like that. I just think that there’s a lot of guys who’ve contributed to that so I’m thankful for the guys that I’ve played with that contributed to it. It’s a special milestone but yeah obviously play to win.”

But despite the disappointing end to the game, there was one silver lining—the fact that Sidney Crosby’s parents, Troy and Trina, were in attendance to witness the moment their son broke Gretzky’s longstanding record. “I mean, it’s one of those things where they sacrificed a lot and support you all these years,” he said gratefully. “It’s nice to have different moments with them and I’ve been fortunate they’ve been to a lot of different games and memories and events and things like that. So, nice to have them here tonight.”

Crosby delivered the Penguins’ only bright spot of the night, scoring 8:49 into the first period to trim the Sabres’ lead to 2-1. It was Crosby’s 26th goal and 80th point of the season in his 72nd game. In his interview, he mentioned how his friends and family helped him get this record, so let’s unpack that statement a little.

Teammates, family, and superstitions: Sidney Crosby and the road to greatness

Sidney Crosby, as usual, wasn’t about to make the record all about him; after all, there were a slew of teammates who helped him with all those goals and assists. But just as Crosby was appreciative of them, his teammates also have nothing but praise for the Canadian icon. First in line was Kris Letang, who is more aware of Crosby’s skill set than anyone, having played with Crosby on the Penguins since 2006. “His consistency is just incredible,” adds, “He just keeps going and going. And the way he keeps himself in shape, I don’t think he’s going to slow down anytime soon,” he said, as per the Athletic.

We all know how special a player Sidney Crosby is, but apparently it isn’t just his talents that have helped him in his career. He’s also relied on his own personal rituals. As his sister Taylor Crosby once revealed years ago, theirs was a superstitious family. But Crosby had some special ones of his own. “The one that’s like the main is that he can’t talk to me or my mother on gamedays. And this all started because in Juniors, he talked to me, and he separated his shoulder. So then it kinda went downhill from there, he tried to break the curse and called my mom and she was like ”It’s fine, it’s fine.”

But as Taylor went on to reveal, their curse-breaking efforts and their mother’s words had no effect, as the next time they spoke before a game, Crosby broke his foot. And to reinforce everything, she met him during pregame after he was drafted to the Penguins only for Sidney Crosby to break his foot again! “And it keeps going,” added Taylor amidst a smattering of laughs from the audience. Clearly there’s some precedence for his pre-game beliefs! And if it saves him from injury, then who can complain?

So he may refrain from conversing with his family before games, but as Crosby said, it’s not just his teammates’ contributions on the ice that helped him break this record, but also the sacrifices made by his parents. Sidney Crosby comes from Cole Harbour, a small town in Nova Scotia that’s far from the hockey hotbeds of Canada. Although Troy Crosby, a former goaltender, had been drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1984 entry draft, he had only ever played Canadian junior hockey.

Not the clearest path to becoming a professional. But his parents were more than willing to do what it takes. Troy and Trina Crosby held regular jobs unrelated to the sport, but as Crosby emphasized, they sacrificed a lot early in his life so that their son could travel all over the country to play games and fulfill his dream of becoming a professional hockey player.

Now, with yet another record under his belt, Sidney Crosby is likely to be looking ahead—to the next season and to Milano-Cortina. With his teammates’ support on the ice and his family’s off of it, we can only hope to see Crosby’s brilliance continue.

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