Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins is, at the moment, in the driver’s seat for the Hart Trophy and the Art Ross with 45 points in 26 games. What we’re witnessing, and forgive the whiff of hyperbole, is one of the greatest offensive seasons in recent NHL history. His 33 assists – including five in a victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday – give him an assists-per-game average of 1.269, which is the 20th-highest ratio in NHL history for a single season. The names ahead of him: Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Adam Oates and Bobby Orr. His 1.731 points per game rests just outside the top 50 all-time, at No. 51. Yet it’s the highest in the last 13 years, since Mario Lemieux’s 1.767 in 2000-01. [Also: Professional hockey player allegedly breaks into house while intoxicated ] Perhaps most impressive of all: He’s making Chris Kunitz look like Jaromir Jagr.

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