Mario Lessard (born June 25, 1954) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
.
Born in
East Broughton, Quebec, Lessard began his
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
career with the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
in
1978, the team he would play his entire NHL career with. Lessard recorded four shutouts in 1978-79, tied for second best in the league. Lessard also was a
NHL second team All-Star in
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
and appeared in the
1981 NHL All-Star Game.
Lessard may be best known as the Kings goalie in the
Miracle on Manchester playoff game in April
1982 in which the Kings rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
, 6-5 in
overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
*by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
. Early in overtime of that game, Lessard mishandled the puck 40 feet in front of his net as he attempted to beat
Glenn Anderson
Glenn Chris Anderson (born October 2, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. Ander ...
to the puck and stop a breakaway; with the net wide open and
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
Mark Hardy trying to act as goalie, the Oilers
Mark Messier shot the puck over the open net. The Kings scored two minutes later to win. After the game Lessard lamented that his mistake nearly blew the amazing comeback. He retired after the
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
season.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
External links
*
Mario Lessard: Training Inspiration
1954 births
Birmingham South Stars players
Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
Fort Worth Texans players
French Quebecers
Ice hockey people from Quebec
Living people
Los Angeles Kings draft picks
Los Angeles Kings players
National Hockey League All-Stars
New Haven Nighthawks players
Quebec Nordiques (WHA) draft picks
Saginaw Gears players
Sherbrooke Castors players
Springfield Indians players
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