The Pittsburgh Penguins captain picked up a goal and three assists in Game 3 against the Flyers on Sunday, tying a career high for points in a playoff game.
Crosby previously set the mark in both 2008 and 2010, when he had separate four-point outings in a pair of playoff series against the Ottawa Senators.
Sunday's four points bring the Penguins superstar to seven points across three playoff games this year.
Game 4 of the series comes Wednesday in Philadelphia.
The Penguins tied the NHL playoff record for the fastest two goals with two tallies just five seconds apart. After Evgeni Malkin wired a one-timer past Brian Elliott on a 4-on-3 power play at the 13:12 mark of the second period, Brian Dumoulin scored just five seconds later after taking a Sidney Crosby pass in the slot and wristing a shot glove side on Elliott.
The Penguins tied the record previously set by the Detroit Red Wings back during the 1965 semifinals. It also marks the third straight game between the Penguins and Flyers that has seen at least one club tally four goals.
Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock was forced to shuffle his lines heading into Game 2 with the absence of Nazem Kadri. He put the slow-footed Leo Komarov on the top line, but that was destined to fail. After going down 4-0 by the end of the first, Babcock again brought out the line blender, but nothing he came up with could contain the best threesome in the NHL.
Yet, perhaps the solution to shutting down Boston's three best players is right in front of Babcock's face - put his three best players on a line together: Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner.
According to Corsica, Matthews, Marner, and Nylander have only played together for just over 12 minutes at 5-on-5 over the past two seasons. Babcock is a large proponent of spreading the wealth of talent through the lineup, which isn't necessarily wrong over the course of a full season.
However, going up against a team that has loaded their top line, Babcock should counter by doing the same. Though it's an awfully small sample size, a Matthews-Marner-Nylander trio has yielded some impeccable results together, accounting for over 70 percent of the expected goals for while on the ice.
These three youngsters don't have the defensive savvy that Boston's top line does, but they certainly have the skill to keep up. They would undoubtedly be able to possess the puck more than any other Leafs trio, which would mitigate the scoring chances the Bruins' top unit creates, and the penalties they've been able to draw. Furthermore, a Matthews-Marner-Nylander line could create some dazzling offense of their own.
Now, the Leafs would need more than a simple lineup shuffle to stop Boston's top line. Their defense would also need to step up in a big way. But the defensemen matched up with Bergeron's line would be playing in their own end far less if Matthews, Marner, and Nylander were together controlling the puck in the offensive zone together.
Here's a possible lineup Babcock could send out for Game 3:
Would Toronto's bottom-9 then be good enough to contend with Boston's? That remains to be seen, but if the Leafs were to lose again, Babcock would sleep a lot easier knowing he did everything in his power to shutdown Bergeron-Marchand-Pastrnak in a good old-fashioned battle of best-on-best. At this point, he's really got nothing to lose.
Happy Birthday, Ilya Kovalchuk. You're now an NHL unrestricted free agent.
The Russian sniper turns 35 today, meaning he's officially off the NHL's voluntary retired list and can negotiate and agree to terms with any NHL team, but can't sign a deal until July 1, per TSN's Bob McKenzie.
Kovalchuk told The Associated Press in March he plans to return to the NHL and wants to play for "several more years" after suiting up for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL the last five seasons.
In July 2013, Kovalchuk chose to leave the NHL in the midst of a 15-year, $100-million contract with the New Jersey Devils. By doing so, he left $77 million on the table with 12 years left on the pact.
After racking 816 points in 816 games in his NHL career, Kovalchuk remained highly productive in Russia with 287 points in 264 contests. He also won two Gagarin Cups while overseas, and claimed a gold medal at PyeongChang 2018.
Matthews dropped an expletive when asked about the line of Brad Marchand, Bergeron, and David Pastrnak having 20 combined points through Games 1 and 2, while the line of Leo Komarov, Matthews, and William Nylander is stuck at zero.
"I don't know. Shit happens, I guess," the Leafs superstar told reporters, including TSN's Mark Masters, after a 7-3 loss that gave the Bruins a 2-0 series lead Saturday night. "That's hockey. Got to rebound for Game 3."
Matthews fired a team-high six shots on goal and nine shot attempts in Saturday's loss, and afterward, he lamented the number of opportunities the Maple Leafs had as a team in Game 2.
"We had plenty of chances tonight, but that first period, everything they threw at the net seemed to go in and they put up four goals," he said. "It's tough to climb back ... Throughout the game, we had our chances and they didn't go in, and it was the exact opposite for them."
Pastrnak made a bit of history with a six-point night Saturday, while Komarov left with an injury in the second period and didn't return, compounding matters for Matthews' line and a Leafs squad that's already missing the suspended Nazem Kadri.
The series shifts to Toronto for Game 3 on Monday night.
It was a monumental performance for the 21-year-old, who becomes the youngest player in NHL history to record six points in a playoff game, surpassing Wayne Gretzky's record by four months.
David Pastrnak (21 years, 324 days) of the @NHLBruins is the youngest player in NHL history to record 6+ points in a playoff game, eclipsing the mark set by Wayne Gretzky (22 years, 81 days) in Game 3 of the 1983 Division Finals (4-3—7 at CGY). #NHLStats#TORvsBOS#StanleyCuppic.twitter.com/rLWrPCm61H
Pastrnak also matched the franchise record for points in a playoff game, joining greats Phil Esposito and Rick Middleton, who achieved the feat in 1969 and 1983, respectively.
David Pastrnak is the first Bruin with a six-point game (regular season or playoffs) since Ray Bourque (one goal, five assists) on 2/18/90 at VAN.
With his three-point effort in Game 1, Pastrnak is now up to nine points. That also matches the NHL record for the most points by a player through the first two games of a postseason, tying Esposito's mark from 1969.
The veteran defenseman underwent surgery March 16 to remove scar tissue in his left hand that had affected his play since he injured it in October, according to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.
The 36-year-old played in 85 previous playoff games, 71 of them during his 10-year tenure with the Vancouver Canucks.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov exited Saturday's game in the second period and did not return for the third after suffering a lower-body injury, the team announced.
