There are five ways to score a goal in ice hockey—short-handed, even-handed, on the power play, by shooting the puck into an empty net of the opposing team, and by way of penalty shot. In the long, long history of the National Hockey League, only one player has scored by way of all of the above-described efforts: Mario “The Magnificent” Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The date of this very special game that starred this legend was New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1988, B.B. (Before Brodeur). The Penguins were hosting the New Jersey Devils, and the team was, to be direct, terrible. It was about this time period when Wayne Gretzky publicly called the Devils “a Mickey Mouse team,” not to be taken favorably.

On this New Year’s Eve, the fans in Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena were in a jovial mood, as many planned to party hearty and ring in 1989 with fun, frolics, and plenty of heavily fortified liquid refreshments. Not to mention Mario Lemieux, Number 66, who was having one of the best seasons of his durable NHL career. He tallied 199 points, winning his second scoring title, but he did not win the Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player), which once again was handed to Gretzky. Lemieux’s 199 points were the most that he ever recorded in one NHL season.

Lemieux’s other notable accomplishments that season included three short-handed goals, 31 power play goals, and 50 goals in 50 games. At the time, only three other players in NHL history—Gretzky, Mike Bossy, and Maurice Richard—who had accomplished the latter feat. In this particular game, “Super Mario” (as he also was known) notched five goals and three assists for eight points. This was Lemieux’s second eight-point game of the 1988-89 season.

Number 66 (Gretzky’s number 99 upside down) recorded a hat trick on short-handed, even-strength, and power-play goals. Fans in the Civic Arena threw caps and hats onto the ice, the traditional sign of appreciation by audience members to a player who has scored three goals in a sole game.

But “Mario The Magnificent” wasn’t through. The Devils were called for a penalty that set the Penguins up with a penalty shot. Naturally, Lemieux was chosen for this honor. He made a beautiful deke move on the Devils goalie [insert name of goalie] and scored effortlessly. Chalk up goal number four for “Super Mario.”

This particular Penguins team was loaded with talented players in addition to Lemieux. The Pens had winger Rob Brown (who had 115 points for the season, mainly thanks to playing on the same line as Lemieux), defenseman Paul Coffey (113 points), Dan Quinn (94 points), and rookie center John Cullen 49 points). The goaltender for the black-and-gold uniformed Penguins was Tom Barrasso, who was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in a trade early in the season. Barrasso would be a vital part of the Penguins teams that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in the early 1990s.

On this particular night, however, the Penguins goaltending was erratic. When this game is brought up as a topic of conversation among hockey buffs, it is often forgotten that the Devils had six goals during the contest. For much of the evening, the team with the lead consistently ping-ponged back and forth between the Devils and the Penguins. With the Devils trailing 7-6 in the closing minutes of the game, Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld decided to pull Devils goalie, Chris Terreri, who had earlier replaced an ineffective Bob Sauve, for an extra attacker to even things up.

His strategy did not work. After a face-off in the Penguins zone, the puck skimmed along the boards and eventually landed flush on the long hockey stick of you know who. Number 66 skated a few strides in his distinctive, long-legged skating style, and then fired a wrist shot at the open Devils net. Yet again the result was a goal for Lemieux and the Penguins.

The final score was the Penguins 8, Devils 6, with Lemieux playing a vital role in every Penguins goal. As is often the case when a NHL player breaks a record—or, in this case, creates a record—Lemieux did not immediately realize what he achieved until after the game was completed.

For Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins, this game was memorable in both his career and also the history of the team. Lemieux’s great season finally established him as a uniquely talented superstar. As for the Penguins, the Pens made it all the way to the Eastern Division Finals, where they were upset by the Philadelphia Flyers. But the Pens players now realized that they were a talented team and, for the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons, they were the winners of the Stanley Cup.