Mark Madden: Sidney Crosby might be on verge of his greatest individual achievement as a Penguin

Let’s celebrate the season with refreshing Pittsburgh Penguins notes! They’re a lot more refreshing when you win nine of 13 and splatter Philadelphia as a Christmas gift. Have you ever seen the Flyers win the Cup?

• From goal line to goal line and on the stat sheet, I’m confident in saying Sidney Crosby is the best 37-year-old hockey player ever. Following his tenure as the best 36-year old ever. Next season, Crosby will be the best 38-year-old ever. We saw it coming, but it’s still amazing to witness. He’s like an Energizer Bunny with flecks of gray and better edge work. Four points against the old enemy in a 7-3 rout. Happy holidays!

• Remember Crosby’s rookie year when he got a few teeth broken by the Flyers’ Derian Hatcher, then scored in overtime to silence the low-rent half-wits who populate Philadelphia’s arena? That’s when Crosby became one of us. He’s tortured the Flyers ever since: 133 points in 88 regular-season games.

• Crosby has 39 points in 36 games. If he averages a point per game or better for a record-setting 20th straight season — every campaign of his career — it might be his greatest individual achievement. Crosby’s game is based on consistency. Another point-per-game season would provide the ultimate validation.

• The Penguins’ rise to contention for a playoff spot can’t stop defenseman Marcus Pettersson from being traded. Rebuilding must progress. You can’t let Pettersson walk away for nothing via free agency. But maybe winger Rickard Rakell shouldn’t be traded. Rakell has found a new level of conditioning and performance. He has a team-high 16 goals in 36 games and meshes perfectly on a line with Crosby and Bryan Rust. Crosby has to have somebody to skate with. But it’s dicey. Rakell is 31 and is signed through 2028 at a salary cap hit of $5 million. What if this is the last best chance to trade him for something of value?

• P.O Joseph has looked OK in his two games since being brought back from St. Louis. He partners comfortably with Kris Letang, who can be finicky about who he skates with. Joseph’s arrival makes Pettersson’s departure inevitable. There’s a gap between Joseph and Petterson. But it’s not monstrous.

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• Rust has 15 goals and 12 assists in 29 games. It’s odd to see a player still improving at 32. But Rust is, particularly his playmaking skills.

• Evgeni Malkin made several astute plays in the defensive and neutral zones in Tuesday’s home win over Philadelphia. It was like seeing a UFO. Malkin has just seven goals in 36 games. Crosby has only 10. But they’re playing fine. On a Penguins team that has little real firepower, Malkin and Crosby draw more opposition attention than ever. When they get chances, the puck isn’t going in. But it will.

• Winger Michael Bunting is an odd study. His hands aren’t great. Really, nothing about him is outstanding. But he pops up and scores. Nine goals in 35 games doesn’t make him Mike Bossy, but it’s solid. The Penguins’ secondary scoring is decent: Besides Bunting, Anthony Beauvillier and Blake Lizotte each have eight goals. Phil Tomasino needs to regenerate the momentum he had when he netted three times in his first five games as a Penguin after being acquired from Nashville. Maybe his goal vs. Philadelphia does that.

• Erik Karlsson has had bad defensive lapses throughout his entire Hall of Fame career. But he’s got a goal and 11 assists during the Penguins’ current 9-3-1 run. If Karlsson produces, it somewhat undoes his other shortcomings. Letang also has come around. That’s not surprising. Letang always does.

• Humiliation can be a strong motivator. The Penguins’ ongoing rise seems to have been spurred by their 6-1 home defeat to Utah on Nov. 23. Crosby scored his 600th goal that night, but the moment was lost amidst how poorly the Penguins played. The Penguins were deeply ashamed and have responded ever since.

• Tristan Jarry conceded a goal on the third shot Wednesday. He has allowed a goal within five shots in 13 of his 16 starts. It’s like spotting the foe a 1-0 lead. It’s as amazing as it is depressing.

• Their current fine play notwithstanding, the Penguins hardly seem poised to make the playoffs, let alone win series when they get there. But earning a wild card could present an interesting first-round matchup. Like Florida, trying to make a third straight Stanley Cup Final. (That’s an insane challenge.) Or Washington, which has a great record but the Penguins wouldn’t be scared. (Crosby vs. Ovechkin in another postseason confrontation? Yes, please.) Or Toronto, which hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and would choke on Jell-O. (Anybody but New Jersey’s speed and structure. Bad matchup for the Penguins.)

• If the Penguins want to further indulge the idea of making the playoffs, they need to get at least five points from their next three games: A home-and-home with the New York Islanders on Saturday and Sunday, then at Detroit on New Year’s Eve. Both teams are below them in the standings, and the Islanders just got shellacked 7-1 by Buffalo, which had lost 13 straight.

• Monday was the 22nd anniversary of Mario Lemieux scoring directly from a faceoff to win a $6,600 bet with me. (I foolishly said Lemieux couldn’t do it after he failed a few times in the attempt.) Lemieux tallied, then turned and waved to me in the press box. Being the first person acknowledged after the greatest hockey player of all time scores is easily worth $6,600. What a memory.