One of the many declarations and decisions the NHL had to make in their return to play is how they would classify the statistics from here on out. And they have decided that the play-in and round robin games will count towards the historical “playoff” stats.
It’s not that important, but it does give Sidney Crosby a chance to really move up the ranks in term’s of the league’s all time playoff scorers. Here’s the list currently, with Crosby ranking 10th place with 186 points and surrounded by nothing but legends.
With just 11 points this summer, Crosby would move past all of Doug Gilmour, Joe Sakic, Brett Hull and tie Paul Coffey for sixth overall. Crosby is 15 points behind Jaromir Jagr in 5th place, another attainable slot with a long playoff run. Wayne Gretzky’s 382 playoff points is safe, but Crosby, 33 next month, should probably pretty easily move into the most “playoff points for a non-1980’s Edmonton Oiler” realm before too much longer.
Evgeni Malkin isn’t too far behind either, at a nice tidy 20th all-time. Malkin is closing in just four points behind the playoff mark of Mario Lemieux, who sadly only played 107 games due to his various injuries and absences over the years.
The two Pens superstars are front and away the highest active playoff performers in this day and age. The next closest active player — though he isn’t involved this summer due to his team not making the playoff — is Joe Thornton in 41st place with 133 career playoff points. Having dusted all peers, the stars now turn their sights to some all-time greats with the more important goal in mind of earning a fourth Stanley Cup in their fabled careers.