PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby felt the pressure. He always does. The Pittsburgh Penguins star could sense it as he crept closer and closer to 500 career goals.

In typical Crosby fashion, his concern wasn’t so much about his pursuit of a milestone only 45 other players in NHL history have reached, but how much it would inconvenience everyone else.

His parents, Troy and Trina, lived out of a suitcase while crisscrossing the Northeast in recent weeks in an effort to be on hand whenever their only son reached rarefied air. His teammates nearly tripped over themselves in an effort to force-feed him the puck.

Mentor and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux put together a videotaped congratulatory message for a moment that seemed uncertain a decade ago when the lingering effects of a concussion cost the game’s best player the better part of two seasons and clouded his future.

Crosby, who had a deep appreciation for the history of the game long before he became a prodigy tasked with reviving a moribund franchise nearly two decades ago, understood the outpouring that would accompany No. 500.

For a player whose default status is to deflect attention to others despite his considerable gifts, maybe that’s what made the organic celebration after his shot from just above the goal line Tuesday night handcuffed Flyers goalie Carter Hart and caromed into the net so sweet.

The men who have had the best view of Crosby’s Hall of Fame career spilled over the boards to meet their captain in the corner at PPG Paints Arena — the same corner where Crosby erupted in November 2011 after his 216th career goal, the one against the New York Islanders following a 10-month absence. That giddy moment proved fleeting. Crosby spent the rest of that season grappling with concussion symptoms while dealing with whispers he may never be the same.

Those whispers have long since been silenced, replaced by the kind of roar few others can produce.

“He’s in very elite company,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “And he’s so deserving. His legacy I think speaks for itself.”