Sidney Crosby collects his 100th point

Eighteen-year-old Sidney Crosby, who set up three Pittsburgh goals Monday, became the youngest player in league history to score at least 100 points in a season.

The Penguins beat the New York Islanders 6-1 and might avoid repeating as the league's worst team. Pittsburgh is two points ahead of St. Louis.

Rookie Crosby's three-point night gave him 62 assists, to go with his 38 goals, and tied the legendary Mario Lemieux (1984-85) for the team rookie scoring record of 100 points.

Crosby and Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk of the Winnipeg Jets (103 points, 1981-82) are the lone 18-year-olds to score 100 points in a league season. Crosby, the No. 1 pick in last summer's draft, is more than three months younger than Hawerchuk was when he reached triple figures in points.

Playing before a noisy, T-shirt-twirling crowd of 17,084 that reacted to every Crosby shift as if it were the playoffs and not a late-season game between two teams that will sit out the postseason, Crosby gave the fans what they wanted to see.

Three points — and his place in the record book.

"It's a great accomplishment, and I'm definitely proud of it," Crosby said. "By no means, coming into the season, did I think about getting 100 points."

Retired Wayne Gretzky, the league's career scoring leader, had 104 points for the Edmonton Oilers when he was 18, but did so in the World Hockey Association. He turned 19 during his first NHL season in 1979-80, when he had 137 points for the Oilers.

Crosby is the seventh rookie to reach the 100-point level, joining Teemu Selanne, Hawerchuk, Lemieux, Joe Juneau, Peter Stastny and Washington's Alexander Ovechkin.

Posted by Ron at April 18, 2006 09:14 AM