1979-80 O-Pee-Chee 389 Mario Lessard Hockey Card (Front)
1979-80 O-Pee-Chee 389 Mario Lessard Hockey Card (Back)
1979-80 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
Mario had 2.51 goals against average at Springfield in 1978 AHL playoffs. Mario won Norris Trophy as leading goalie in IHL in 1976-77.
En Français
Pour Springfield, durant les éliminatoires de la LAH en 1978, Mario obtint une moyenne de 2.51 buts contre. Gagnant du Trophée Norris comme meilleur gardien de la LIH en 1976-77.
Details
This hockey card contains an ERROR. Mario Lessard was not the recipient of the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the 1976-77 IHL season. The winner was actually Terry Richardson of the Kalamazoo Wings. However, Lessard did shine for the Saginaw Gears in the playoffs, appearing in 18 of the team’s 19 games as they captured the Turner Cup championship, taking down the Toledo Goaldiggers in the final.
This is the first of just three hockey cards O-Pee-Chee would produce featuring Mario Lessard. It’s a head scratcher that, despite being the number one goalie with the Los Angeles Kings from 1978-79 to 1981-82, OPC would leave him out of the 1980-81 set.
It was in 1980-81 that Lessard got his name in the record books. On the night of March 24, 1981, the Kings were visiting the Minnesota North Stars. The Stars pelted Mario with all the could, firing 68 shots at the L.A. goalie. Lessard turned away all but three and the Kings were able to beat their foes 4-3 despite putting just 19 shots on Don Beaupre.
This performance set an NHL record that still stands today. It was the most saves by a goalie in a win. Ron Tugnutt made 70 saves in a game in 1991 but that match ended in a tie. This was a pretty good performance for a goalie with a career .872 save percentage and 3.74 goals against average.
The back of the card mentions his performance in the AHL and IHL but fails to take a look at Mario’s great rookie campaign in the NHL. Thrust into the number one role with the Kings, Lessard put up a 3.10 GAA with four shutouts over 49 games. This got him a look for the Calder Trophy, finishing fifth in voting, a good distance behind winner Bobby Smith.
The snippet about his performance with the Springfield Indians in the 1977-78 Calder Cup playoffs is a bit deceiving. Yes, he did post a 2.51 goals against average but over just four games. The Indians fell to the Nova Scotia Voyageurs 3-1 in the opening round best of five series.
Between 1978-79 and 1983-84, Mario Lessard appeared in 240 regular season and 20 playoff games in the National Hockey League, all with the Los Angeles Kings. He was originally a ninth round pick by the Kings at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft out of the Sherbrooke Castors from the QMJHL.