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  Friday, Dec. 31 8:30pm ET
Hull 12th NHL player to reach mark
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

DALLAS -- Brett Hull surpassed the 600-goal career milestone in typical, dramatic fashion.

The Dallas Stars right wing scored career goals Nos. 600 and 601 in his 900th game, making him the third-fastest to 600 in NHL history. And he surpassed 600 where he wanted, in front of the Reunion Arena fans who've adopted him during Hull's 1½ seasons with the Stars, and on the final night of the century.

Brett Hull
Hull and his father, Bobby, are the first father-son combination in the 600 club. Bobby Hull had 610 goals.
Most important to Hull, he contributed to a 5-4 victory Friday over a Pacific Division rival, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

Hull accomplished the feat on a familiar play, a shot from the slot while the Stars had a man advantage.

"I think I've scored maybe half my goals from that spot," said Hull, the highest-scoring player of the 1990s with 494 goals. "It's been a great decade. I couldn't have capped it any better."

Hull got the tying and winning goals in the third period to become the 12th player in league history with at least 600 goals.

"It's a neat thing, scoring the last goal of the millennium in the NHL," said Hull, who scored a controversial game-winner in the playoffs in June that gave the Stars their first Stanley Cup. "It's been a great year and a half in Dallas."

Hull and his father, Bobby, are the first father-son combination in the 600 club. Bobby Hull had 610 goals. Brett Hull said scheduling problems prevented his father from attending his historic game.

Growing up watching his famous father, then playing with and against several of the other members of the 600 club, Hull has an appreciation for the historical significance of Friday night's achievement.

"I know a lot of the people up there," Hull said. "I've played in the same era with Wayne Gretzky, Steve Yzerman ... And when I was growing up I watched my father, Phil Esposito. They were idols of mine. It's a big thrill."

Gretzky, Hull's former St. Louis linemate, is the leader with 894. Hull is tied for 11th with Jari Kurri.

Hull wanted to reach 600 in 900 or fewer games. Gretzky got his 600th goal in his 718th game, and Mario Lemieux reached the milestone in 719 games.

"I wanted 600 in 900 games because they're round numbers and it's easier to do the math," Hull said after helping the Stars improve to 10-4-2 in their last 16 games with his 14th and 15th goals of the season.

The end of the chase to 600 was a relief for Hull, as well as his teammates.

"Getting the tying goal and the winner, that made it a great night," said linemate and close friend Mike Modano, who assisted on both of Hull's goals. "He's happy it's over and happy that it happened in Dallas."

Hull scored on the Stars' only two shots of the third period, giving him 21 goals in 29 career games against the Mighty Ducks.

"He's always a strong option in the offensive zone," Modano said. "He has such great body control and the ability to get his arms free from contact to get the shot off. He looks for the quiet spots on the ice and before you know it, he has a goal."

Hull had scored in only three of his previous 12 games, and he was beginning to press to get the 600th.

"He was getting more frustrated as the night went on," Modano said. "But then, boom, he can change a game with one shot. That's the way he's scored his goals throughout his career. That's his style."

Hull, set up in the high slot on a power play, took a pass from Kirk Muller and fired a shot past goalie Guy Hebert to tie it at 4 with 13:24 left in the third period. Hull added the winning goal 2:13 later, on a wrist shot from the left circle.

"It's quite a milestone," Hull said. "I've always been a goal-scorer, so that's what makes it special."

 


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