Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan and captain Sidney Crosby reach historic milestones
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Not only did the Penguins get a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday night, giving them their fifth win in the last six games, but some history was made.
First, as soon as the puck dropped, Head Coach Mike Sullivan became the 21st coach in NHL history to reach 700 games with one franchise.
With the win, his record as the Penguins' bench boss now stands at 387-232-81. He also is the only coach in Penguins' history to lead the franchise to two Stanley Cup championships which he did in 2016 and 2017.
"It's been life-changing, this experience," Sullivan said in an interview with NHL.com. "I am so privileged to have the opportunity to coach here in Pittsburgh."
The only other active coach with a longer interrupted streak is Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper who has coached 903 games.
Sullivan was hired by the Penguins as head coach on December 12, 2015, replacing Mike Johnston.
From there, the team went on to win consecutive Stanley Cup championships.
Along with Sullivan's historic game, captain Sidney Crosby continued to cement his place in NHL history when he assisted on Bryan Rust's go-ahead goal, which gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead in the second period.
With that assist, Sidney Crosby tied Gordie Howe for fifth place in most assists with one franchise at 1,023. He now trails Mario Lemieux who recorded 1,033 assists with the Penguins in his career.
The Penguins find themselves currently tied for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and tied for fifth place in the Metropolitan Division.
They'll welcome the Colorado Avalanche to PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
