Crosby has 80 points in 72 games this season, 17 more points than the second-leading scorer on the Penguins, Rickard Rakell. Crosby missed two games before the 4 Nations Face-Off, meaning he can only play a maximum of 80 matches this season.

Jiri Kulich scored twice as part of a five-goal second period, and the Buffalo Sabres routed Pittsburgh 7-3 on Thursday night in an outing Penguins captain Sidney Crosby broke an NHL record for point-per-game consistency he shared with Wayne Gretzky.

The captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored a goal at the 11:11 mark of the first period, which was good for his 80th point of the season. Crosby, who can only play a maximum of 80 regular-season games because he missed two in February, clinched a point-per-game season for the 20th time in his storied 20-year career.