Today in Penguins History - November 30th: Looking Back at Super Mario's Brilliance

Throwback Thursday: A Look into Penguins History

On November 30th, 1996 the Penguins faced off in a regular season matchup vs the Boston Bruins. On this night, the Pens hammered the Bruins 6-2 and Mario Lemieux and his star teammate Ron Francis made NHL history.

Another Amazing Accomplishment in a Legendary Career

By 1996, Super Mario had already cemented himself as one of the all-time greats after over a decade of brilliance. During the 1996/1997 NHL season,' Le Magnifique' continued to make his case for being one of the greatest of all time.



In front of a sold out crowd at the Igloo, Mario had a goal and three assists, which made him the first player in Penguins history to score 1400 points. He also become only the 9th player in NHL history to hit this milestone. He did it in under 700 regular season games.

To add to the magic of this night, Ron Francis became just the ninth player to register 900 assists.

Mario would go on to score 122 points through 76 games before he was forced into an early retirement due to health concerns, after the Penguins were upset in the playoffs by the Florida Panthers. He would return again in the 2000/2001 NHL season.

Some Lemieux highlights from this era can be found below.


As read on: ESPN- Box Score November 30, 1996 Bruins vs Penguins
Historic Dates in Penguins History
NHL.COM- Career Stats - Mario Lemieux