Sidney Crosby scored 33 goals and assisted on 70 others for 103 points in 2008-09. His 70 assists was good enough for second in the NHL behind teammates Evgeni Malkin's 78 assists and his 103 points was third best in the NHL - 10 behind league leader Evgeni Malkin's 113 points. Heading into the Playoffs, Crosby embarked on a 16-game point scoring streak from February 16 to April 1, 2009 in which he scored nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points, a 1.69 points-per-game clip. In the Playoffs, Crosby had 31 points including a league-leading 15 goals. He scored in 17 of 24 games including 12 multiple point games en route to leading the Penguins to their third Stanley Cup in franchise history.
The Penguins met the hated Philadelphia Flyers in the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals, a rematch of the 2008 Eastern Conference Final that the Penguins won four games to one. The Penguins won Games 1 and 2 in Pittsburgh to take a commanding 2-0 series lead before dropping Game 3 in Philadelphia. After a scoreless first period, Sidney Crosby opened the scoring 3:19 into the second period. Chris Kunitz took a Matt Cooke drop pass just inside the Flyers' blueline and executed a perfect saucer pass over a sliding Kimmo Timonen perfectly onto Crosby's stick. The puck ricocheted up and off Crosby's body and into the net as Crosby slid into the far post next to Flyers goalie Martin Biron. The goal was reviewed and after nearly a 2-minute review, referee Dennis LaRue announced that "the ruling on the ice stands, good goal." Tyler Kennedy scored 4:22 later to make it 2-0 Penguins before Dan Carcillo made it 2-1 with 8:16 to go in the game. Max Talbot ended the Flyers' hopes with en empty net goal with 52 seconds to play to give the Penguins the 3-1 win and 3-1 lead in the series.
This stick was used by Mario Lemieux during the 1991-92 National Hockey League season.
Photo / Video References
The stick was acquired by PenguinsChronicles.com from a private collector on July 18, 2013.