Montreal Canadiens icon undergoes surgery after being rushed to the hospital

The 76-year-old fell at a friend's birthday party in Kirkland over the weekend, slipping off a step he did not see while leaving a bathroom and landing hard on his left thigh.

He underwent surgery Sunday at Lakeshore General Hospital in an operation that lasted more than two hours.

Five days after the accident, Lambert says he is improving and counts himself fortunate the injury was not worse.

He has started getting around with a walker and hopes to be discharged from the hospital by Saturday. He is now bracing for months of rehabilitation, likely at a facility near his home in LaSalle.

His partner, Danielle Caron, shared updates on social media thanking the medical staff at Lakeshore for their care during a difficult and unexpected setback.

Lambert's place in Montreal history was built during one of the greatest runs in NHL history.

Over ten NHL seasons, almost entirely with the Canadiens, Lambert put up 206 goals, 273 assists and 479 points in 683 regular season games.

He added 27 goals in 90 playoff contests, numbers that reflect his reliability during Montreal's four straight Stanley Cup titles from 1976 to 1979.

His signature moment came in Game 7 of the 1979 semifinal against Boston. With the Canadiens trailing late, a Bruins too-many-men penalty opened the door for Guy Lafleur to tie the game, and Lambert buried the series winner in overtime off a cross-ice feed from Mario Tremblay, sending Montreal to another Cup final.

Nearly five decades later, it remains one of the most celebrated goals in franchise history, and it's part of why fans across Quebec are wishing him a full recovery now.

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