I don't know what kind of chest protector he had on, but a lot of them don't have any coverage right there. Chances are then only thing between the stick and Mario's ribs was his sweater. I'm sure that hurt like hell.
Rod Langway was a big American defenseman born in Taiwan. He won the Norris twice, but he would be at the other end of the spectrum compared to actual Capitals defenseman star Mike Green. To give you an idea, Green set a record for d-men, going 8 straight games with at least a goal, while Langway's best season was 11 goals. The aging Secretary of Defense couldn't do much against Super Mario in this clip... Fun fact: my father was outraged when Montreal dealt him, then he became a Nordiques fan.