40 years ago, Mario’s magic
On March 14, 1984, the Laval Voisins hosted the Longueuil Chevaliers. Mario Lemieux needed three goals to break Guy Lafleur’s record of 130 in a single season, set 13 years earlier. Let’s take a look back at this magical evening, with three players who were on the ice with him.
To get the full picture of Lemieux’s feat that night, we contacted two of his former teammates, defenseman Steven Finn and forward Vincent Damphousse, as well as Chevaliers defenseman Luc Gauthier.
One, among many, who was stunned several times by Lemieux in the Voisins’ 16-4 victory that night!
While Finn, Damphousse and Gauthier have three slightly different memories of the game, they do agree on three points.
One, Lemieux’s individual performance was the most impressive they’ve ever seen, in person or on TV.
Two, the fact that Wayne Gretzky was there in the stands – the Oilers were playing the Canadiens at the Forum the next day – made it all the more special.
And three, the fact that Mario pulled off such a performance in the very last game of the season, in front of a packed house in Laval and several journalists, testifies to his greatness under pressure. Something we’ve seen time and time again in the NHL and on the international stage.
Mario “in his own bubble”
On March 14, 1984 Lemieux’s task looked colossal: score a hat trick to tie Lafleur’s record. Score four goals to beat him.
For the Chevaliers, the task was even more daunting: try to stop Lemieux, who hopped onto the ice with 127 goals and 271 points in just 69 games.
“Mario was getting an average of two goals and four points per game, so we knew it was possible. But we weren’t expecting that,” admits Vincent Damphousse, then a 16-year-old rookie center.
“Mario didn’t mention anything about it [the record], adds Damphousse. As for him, the higher the stakes, the calmer he was. He was just in his own bubble.”
“We were probably more nervous than he was, acknowledged Steven Finn. Mario was a pretty reserved guy, but he was confident in his abilities. We really wanted him to succeed, because he had done so much for the organization.”
In the Chevaliers’ dressing room, the players were just as nervous, but for very different reasons.
“We kept telling ourselves that we had to stop him, but we knew it was going to be an extremely difficult task, says Gauthier. In junior, Mario was so dominant. It just didn’t make sense!”
That was it, in 21 minutes!
We could sum up Lemieux’s game for you, but Gauthier seems to remember it like it was yesterday.
“It was so special. For one thing, it was a typical Monday night in Laval. The arena was packed! We kept telling ourselves that he wouldn’t break Guy Lafleur’s record against us. If I remember correctly, he scored two in the first period. And so, we knew we had two more periods to stop him! But very early in the second period, he scored his 130th…”
Gauthier has the memory of an elephant. As early as the 78th second of the middle frame, Lemieux beat Daniel Brazeau to tie Lafleur’s record.
Then, at 7:14, the long-awaited moment: Lemieux’s 131st, a new QMJHL record! The Voisins had a 10-0 lead at that point!
When Damphousse said earlier that “we weren’t expecting this”, the “this” refers to the total of 11 points with which Lemieux finished, one shy of the single-game league record held by André Savard, achieved in 1971… alongside Guy Lafleur!
“He finished with six goals and five assists, just incredible! We’re not talking about a pee-wee game here, this was major junior. He was under pressure, needed four goals to break the record, and he scored six! That says a lot about Mario Lemieux,” Finn says admiringly.
“Good thing I was on the bench when he scored his 131st! We teased the guys who were on the ice quite a bit, because we saw them on the news for a week! I was glad I wasn’t there,” laughs Luc Gauthier.
Finn, who was in his second season in the QMJHL, says he and his teammates “were relieved” when Mario scored his 131st goal, and that “his 11 points were the cherry on top of a magical evening”.
The most talented
Two other points on which Finn, Damphousse and Gauthier agree: Mario Lemieux is the most talented player they’ve ever seen, and a 133-goal, 282-point QMJHL season will never happen again.
“Yes, he skated well. Yes, he was a big guy. But his hockey sense was exceptional. He was always one or two plays ahead of everyone else,” says Gauthier to sum up the qualities of the great 66.
“Mario was dominant on so many levels, adds Damphousse, who was also a very good NHL forward in the 80s and 90s. He was an excellent passer, he had a very good shot, he had the speed to outwit you and he was so physically strong that he could make plays even when he was covered by two players. Gretzky, on the other hand, was more elusive, but I think Mario had the better overall package.”
Finn: “Mario was so humble”
Finn, who collected three assists on March 14, 1984 is more interested in talking about the individual than the player. “Mario was a superstar from the atom level on, but he was still so humble. He was one of the boys. In fact, when I was playing in the NHL and we’d visit Pittsburgh, he invited me to dinner several times.”
What impresses Finn even more is that Lemieux managed 133 goals and 282 points when he was constantly playing against the opposition’s top players.
“Mario always had a shadow on his back. Every game, the opposing coach would designate a player to follow him around the ice! Mario was so clever that he would stick to another opponent, so we were practically playing four against three!”
Forty years later, that record-night still holds a special place in Finn’s heart.
“There was a lot of media attention before and after the game, because Mario didn’t beat just anyone. We all know how important Guy Lafleur was to the players of our generation, and just how influential his time in the QMJHL was. Guy was a God! It was truly an unforgettable evening.”
“We’ll never see that again!”
Since Mario Lemieux’s 133 goals, the highest total scored in the QMJHL was Stephan Lebeau’s 94 in 1987-1988. Then came Yanic Perreault’s 87 in 1990-1991. No one has topped 80 goals since.
In terms of points, Lemieux’s 282 are 31 more in a season than Pierre Larouche, who’s totals are from 1973-74. And since Lemieux, only two players have broken the 200-point barrier: Marc Fortier with 201, in 1986-87, and Patrice Lefebvre with 200, in 1987-88.
Since the early 90s, the highest total belongs to Brad Richards with 186, with the 1999-00 Rimouski Océanic.
“We’ll never see that again [Lemieux’s numbers]! Not with the goaltenders and defensive systems that are now better than ever,” Damphousse aptly concludes.