Ice Hockey · 1993 · Philadelphia, USA
Lemieux's Same-Day Comeback
Hours after his final radiation treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, Mario Lemieux flies to Philadelphia and scores in his first game back.
Goal + assist, same day as final radiation
Return
Art Ross Trophy, Hart Trophy
Season awards
~24
Games missed to treatment
Mario Lemieux announced on 12 January 1993 that he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, while leading the NHL in scoring. He went through 22 radiation treatments over several weeks, a punishing course that left him fatigued and kept him away from the Pittsburgh Penguins for close to two months.
On the morning of 2 March 1993 he took his final radiation session in Pittsburgh and flew to Philadelphia that same day to rejoin his team, without having practised in weeks. The Flyers' notoriously hostile crowd gave him a standing ovation during warm-ups. He scored a goal and added an assist in the game itself.
He scored more or less at will over the rest of the season, took the Penguins on a 17-game winning streak, and finished with both the NHL scoring title and the Hart Trophy as league MVP, having missed two months of it in treatment.
Watch the Moment
