While watching Sidney Crosby’s virtuoso performance Saturday afternoon in Detroit, one thing went through my mind.

This one should be remembered more than it probably will be.

That kind of effort from Crosby felt like it should’ve resulted in more of an exclamation point result. With the desperation level being as high as it was for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, and with Crosby playing as well as he did en route to the 5-1 win, that exhibition of excellence had the vibe of a playoff-series-winning type of performance. One to underscore in the “Remember When Sid Did THAT” file years after he retires.

At the very least, in this grossly inconsistent up and down 2022-23 for the Penguins, that Crosby-special felt like it should’ve been the one that finally clinched a playoff spot for the Penguins.

Not only that but also a moment for the Penguins to tell the Eastern Conference that an actual playoff-worthy version of the Penguins would be entering the postseason and not just backing in with nothing in the tank.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

For as clutch as Crosby’s two goals and one assist were, by the end of Saturday night, the Penguins yielded nothing from it. All they did was keep pace with the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers. Since those two teams also won their games on Saturday, they remained in the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots with 91 points, while the Penguins are still on the outside of the playoff bracket in ninth place with 90.

That show Crosby produced en route to securing his 1,500th career point deserved more than just potentially evaporating into the NHL ether as a footnote if the Penguins fail to qualify.

• Rifling one of his signature backhand goals in buzzer-beating fashion to end the first period after Jake Guentzel forced a crucial turnover.

Guentzel + Crosby = a match made in hockey heaven pic.twitter.com/gAei6WAoRn

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 8, 2023

• Barreling down the right wing and following up his own rebound of another backhander to set up Danton Heinen for the game’s third goal in a beautiful blend of desire and skill.

IT'S HEIN-EN THE NET! ???? pic.twitter.com/FhsfZTuxH8

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 8, 2023

• Giving the Penguins all the cushion they would need early in the third period on a power play goal for point 1,500.

Elite company ????

Fastest players to 1,500 points:1. Wayne Gretzky2. Mario Lemieux3. Marcel Dionne4. Jaromir Jagr5. Phil Esposito6. Sidney Crosby7. Steve Yzerman pic.twitter.com/mxLnf0On98

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 8, 2023

It was a 23-minute stretch of ice time when Crosby impacted the contest in a way that was reminiscent of his Hart Trophy and Art Ross seasons of 2007 and 2014.

“He seems to have just an incredible ability to play at his very best when the stakes are the highest,” coach Mike Sullivan said after the game. “That’s why the Penguins have been able to accomplish what they have been able to accomplish over the last (18 years) that Sid has been playing, and (Evgeni Malkin) and (Kris Letang). You can speak to those guys as well. They have built an incredible legacy, and they have an appetite for more.”

The stakes are indeed high. Any misstep over this last week of play could result in their first playoff absence since 2006. It’s just that over those previous 16 years, when the stakes have been this high and Crosby has lived up to the moment in that way, something more tangibly worth celebrating has been highlighted in the afterglow.

A division title. Advancing in the playoffs. A Stanley Cup.

But because of the situation the Penguins have put themselves in with their painfully erratic play this season, for now, all those highlights Crosby produced may just be remembered as “how Sid got to 1,500” and not “how Sid willed the Penguins into the playoffs.”

Unless Crosby does it again Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena against the Chicago Blackhawks. Unless Crosby does it again Thursday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets during the regular season finale.

And he may have to.

Because this year, as much as any other over the past 16 since they have been united as teammates, whatever this franchise does on the ice is reliant on Crosby, Malkin and Letang.

Granted, the core three isn’t blameless in the team’s playoff predicament. Crosby himself was mired in a seven-game goal drought prior to Saturday’s show. That said, this franchise would’ve been eliminated long ago if it weren’t for Crosby and his 91 points so far this season.

“The most important thing is the next game,” Crosby said Saturday. “Our situation here and the urgency and desperation, that’s what I’m thinking about.”

As he must, because that victory Saturday, coupled with the Penguins’ victory against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, were the first wins in back-to-back games for this club in almost a month. So no wonder the group is 80 games into this season and still hasn’t secured a postseason berth with just two dates remaining.

Two MVPs. Two scoring titles. Three Stanley Cups. Two Conn Smythe trophies. Two Olympic gold medals. Crosby has surely done things more memorable than what he did Saturday.

Even if things turn out well over this last week of the regular season, Crosby will eventually retire with accomplishments and highlights much greater than squeezing this ragtag edition of the Penguins into the playoffs.

But if he can replicate what he did against Detroit twice more this week, however fondly this late playoff push is remembered, it will be well deserved.

And impossible to overstate.

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