The Matchup: Brett Hull vs. Alexander Mogilny

The Question: Who is the more dangerous sniper?

Brett Hull

Alexander Mogilny

His weapon of choice is the wrist shot and he uses it with tremendous accuracy. One of the most interesting things to watch in hockey is Brett Hull shooting the puck. His stick looks almost like a golf club when he swings. He uses a flexible stick, so you can see the whip he generates and his hands precede the blade. Then the puck explodes off Hull's stick and is on top of a goaltender before he knows it, hitting the corner, the five-hole or wherever Brett wants it to go.

Hull would be the first to acknowledge that he needs to play with a talented center who knows how to find him and can get him the puck. Because he's not the type of skater who will lug the puck up ice from his own end, he has become very good at getting open in the offensive end. Having a playmaker who can set him up is essential. And Brett has been very fortunate in his career to have played with two of the best – Adam Oates in St. Louis and Mike Modano in Dallas – who have helped him rack up 636 goals in his career.

Brett Hull doesn't make a spectacle of himself after he scores a goal for a reason. He doesn't want to rile the opposition and have them pay extra attention to him. He is a flamboyant, well-spoken guy who strongly voices his opinion off the ice, but he's very low-key on the ice. This is a player who has scored 70 or more goals in a season three times and he somehow can disappear in the offensive zone. Brett credits his low-key approach for allowing him to do that. He is able to bide his time in the offensive end, slip his defender, float for a second, put the stick down and the puck is in. He can lull a defense to sleep and it's fun to watch.

Alexander Mogilny is less consistent than Hull, but he is having a tremendous year so far. Mogilny has speed that Hull doesn't have. Lightning-fast skating isn't Hull's game, but Mogilny has great wheels. He can take the puck from his own blue line, fly through the neutral zone and he executes the give-and-go as well as anyone. His timing is great and he knows how to get into the scoring lanes.

Because of his speed, Mogilny is able to generate more offense on his own than Hull. He has great moves, acceleration and he changes speeds well. So, in one-on-one situations, Mogilny is more dangerous than Brett Hull. You have to account for Alex from his own blue line on. He'll use his speed, get behind you and go for breakaways.

Mogilny is also a better shooter on the move. Ten feet inside the blue line is a long way from the net for most guys, but when Mogilny gets to that point on the rush he can score with a wrist shot. He uses the momentum of his skating to add to the speed of the shot.

In addition to being a great one-on-one player, Mogilny is very effective on the give-and-go. Like all the great players, he has the vision to see teammates and openings. But in the years that he played with great centermen he was much more effective. Mogilny hasn't been as consistently lucky as Hull in that regard. There was a reason he scored 76 goals in the 1992-93 season in Buffalo – Pat Lafontaine. Mogilny has gone through stretches where he hasn't had great chemistry with the guy who is getting him the puck.

Both players are having very good seasons. It's very difficult to distinguish who might be the most dangerous at the moment. Normally you would automatically go with Hull, but Mogilny has been phenomenal the past six weeks. They're both highly feared and have been for their entire careers. But given Hull's consistency over the years and the fact that he has Mike Modano to feed him the puck, the edge has got to go to Hull.

Brian Engblom is a hockey analyst for ESPN. He played 11 seasons in the NHL as a defenseman, including six with the Montreal Canadiens.