If you ask Sidney Crosby whether he plays to break records, the answer will be: No. The Team Canada and Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain doesn’t play hockey to break records. Yet that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about them. So how exactly do the players approach the sport? Here’s what captain consistent had to say: “I’m just trying to go out there every night and play well.”

Yet, this mentality of giving your best on a match-by-match basis is exactly why Crosby finds himself on the cusp of setting a record. And during a time when all eyes are on Alex Ovechkin chasing down Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record, not enough people are paying attention to Crosby on the cusp of surpassing another of Gretzky’s records. He may even get there before Ovechkin.

That because while Alex Ovechkin is just 9 goals away from tying The Great One’s record, the Canadian is just 8 points short. What’s the record, you ask? The ChelPenguins page posted the answer: “Sidney Crosby is 8 points from his 20th point-per-game season. Since age 18, he’s never been below a PPG. Wayne Gretzky hit 19 straight before falling short in year 20,” they wrote.

To put things into perspective, the 37-year-old has been scoring over a point per game since joining the NHL during the 2005-06 season. He was 18 back then. Looking back on his long, yet consistent journey to ward the milestone, the Penguins Captain exercised humility. “There’s always challenges every year that you go through,” said Crosby as per the New York Times.

“But you try to embrace the challenge you’re in,” he added. Sidney Crosby also drew similarity in his and perineal rival Alex Ovechkin’s mindsets.. “You let the points take care of themselves. It’s not different than Alex and what he’s doing,” explained Crosby. However, what’s remarkable about the Canadian is that he nearly lost his career during his prime.

How injuries nearly ended Sidney Crosby’s hockey dreams

As Crosby edged ever closer to Wayne Gretzky’s record, it’s important to remember that even getting to this point was no easy task for the Penguins’ Captain. With prime marred with concussion injuries, things got so bad for the Canadian that his entire ice hockey career was in jeopardy in the early 2010s. That’s because Crosby has missed over 100 games due to concussions.

2011 and 2012 were arguably Sidney Crosby’s worst years in terms of concussion injuries. The NHL icon missed 48 games during the 2010-2011 season, and then 20 more the following season. What’s worse? This came back to haunt the Canadian hockey star as he missed 40 more games due to concussion-like symptoms. In fact, by the 2010s, doctors were ringing alarm bells.

The Canadian Sports Concussion Project’s director, Dr. Charles Tator, explained a grim possibility to CBC Sports. “For example, if you have headaches, nausea, sensitivity to light, fatigue, etcetera, the likelihood is that you may never recover,” Tator said while discussing Crosby’s chances of recovering from severe concussive trauma.

However, Sidney Crosby endured despite the challenges. While the 37-year-old adjusted his play style to mitigate risks as much as he could, the player never lost the belief he had in himself. “You’ve got to go out that and play the game and trust yourself,” the Penguins star explained while discussing the record with the New York Times. So now it only seems to be a matter of time before Crosby joins Ovechkin in breaking one of Gretzky’s records. Who do you believe will get there sooner?