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

Sidney Crosby's first-period goal against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday secured the 20th point-per-game season for the Pittsburgh Penguins captain, breaking a tie with Wayne Gretzky. The goal also clinched Crosby's 14th 80-point season since entering the NHL during the 2005-06 season,

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.

Koivunen was part of the return the Penguins received in the 2024 trade of Jake Guentzel. The former Finnish league standout could now be set to make his NHL debut after leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and ranking fifth in the AHL with 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists) in 62 games.

After a disastrous road trip, the Pittsburgh Penguins are calling up some reinforcements from the AHL. On Friday morning, they announced that prospects Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty are bound for Pittsburgh.