By MATT VENSEL

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

(TNS) —One month ago, it seemed like there could be some suspense down the stretch as Penguins captain Sidney Crosby chased an NHL record for point-per-game seasons.

Crosby was recovering from an elbow injury that threatened to keep him out of the 4 Nations Face-Off. He had 61 points in 59 games entering March. And speculation swirled about his top triggerman, Rickard Rakell, ahead of the NHL trade deadline.

But after a scoring spree from Pittsburgh’s top line these last three weeks, Crosby needs only two more points to lock in his 20th consecutive campaign of averaging at least one point per game, pulling him ahead of Wayne Gretzky for the most ever.

Crosby could do it as early as Tuesday’s road tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I just think he’s playing the game that we grow accustomed to watching all the time,” Mike Sullivan recently said. “He’s an elite player. And I think he’s trying to lead through example with our group, as far as setting the standard of what it means to be a Penguin. I know that’s important to him, the legacy that has been built here.”

Yes, even at 37, Crosby remains a top-10 center in the league, maybe even top five. And he is still the straw that stirs the drink for Pittsburgh’s top line and power play.

He has 25 goals and 78 points in 70 games played. He sat out two due to his injury.

Getting to that point-pergame mark is no doubt meaningful to him, as consistency and longevity are two characteristics that have defined Crosby’s incredible career.

So, yeah, he was pretty pumped the Penguins hung on to Rakell at the trade deadline.

Rakell has scored 32 goals this season, his most in black and gold since the Penguins under Ron Hextall traded for him in 2022. All but 10 of those goals came at 5-on-5.

And Bryan Rust, who scored twice in Sunday’s loss at Florida, is hardly a third wheel.

Sullivan said Rust, who is still an excellent skater at 32, brings an essential element.

“Rusty adds a speed dimension to those guys,” he said. “That helps them, especially with the puck pursuit game and if they don’t have it playing the possession game.”

Obviously, the man has a lot of skill, too. That was apparent again Sunday when he swatted a saucer pass from Crosby past Sergei Bobrovsky for a highlight-reel goal.

That was Rust’s 25th goal of the season. All three players on that line have hit that mark. Meanwhile, Evgeni Malkin is next on the team’s scoring list with just 15 goals.

“They’re invaluable. They drive our offense. They’re the most consistent line that we have as far as driving offense night in and night out,” Sullivan said this weekend. “They don’t score every night, but they drive offense every night. And I think when they’re at the best, obviously they fill the net. That’s what they do for this group.”

In March, the trio has 11 goals in 11 games when all three are on the ice at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. The rest of the lineup has provided just 12 full-strength goals.

Crosby’s line has scored in every game during the Penguins’ current 5-1-1 stretch.

Per usual, Crosby and his two wingers have generated much of that offense through the cycle game and, to a lesser degree, the forecheck. After Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Panthers, Rakell sits near the top of the NHL leaderboard in both cycle chances and forecheck chances, per Sportlogiq. Crosby is right behind Rakell in both categories.

Sullivan often calls Crosby the best player in NHL history at creating offense down low. And he recently remarked that Rakell and Rust are in sync with Sid on the cycle because of their “anticipation skills,” courage and ability to make plays in traffic.

“I think they can play the game that he thrives [with offensively]. Their give-and-go guys. They have a high hockey IQ, so they think it on a high level,” Sullivan said. “In a lot of instances, the window of opportunity is fractions of a second, so the timing of when you get to certain areas of the rink is critical to those guys having success.”

Just two NHL trios have combined for more 5-on-5 goals in 2024-25, per MoneyPuck.

And now, Crosby is within striking distance of his latest point-per-game campaign.

With 10 games left, the only suspense is whether he gets it on the road or at home.