Sidney Crosby scored twice and added an assist to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-2 win over the New York Rangers on Monday night. The trio of points gives him 82 on the year, securing a point-per-game season for the 19th consecutive year, tying Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.

The 36-year-old handed out his assist immediately on Monday, firing a shot on net that teammate Bryan Rust put past Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin just 18 seconds into the contest.

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He went on to add his first goal of the night halfway through the opening period, tipping a point shot from Pierre-Olivier Joseph to take a 2-0 lead.

Crosby capped off his excellent evening with an empty-net goal 45 seconds remaining in the game to secure Pittsburgh's 33rd win of the season.

”Any time you can be in that company, it's pretty cool,'" Crosby said in reference to matching Gretzky on such a significant milestone.

Crosby’s first-period assist was the 997th of his career and his 80th point this season, marking the 13th time he has reached that milestone, tying him with Marcel Dionne, Mark Messier and Dale Hawerchuk. Gretzky has the most such seasons with 17.

“It’s remarkable for him to perform at an elite level for as long as he has,″ Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of Crosby. ”His body of work speaks for itself. All of these milestones that he’s reaching is evidence that he’s one of the greatest players of all time.”

Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who is in his first season as a Penguin and got the win Monday, agreed with how impressive Crosby is as a teammate.

“There's not much to say that hasn't already been said. It's incredible to watch,'' he said. ”He's so much more than a goal scorer. Doing the little things is what makes him a leader."

— With files from The Associated Press

Penguins' Crosby ties Gretzky with 19th point-per-game season

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