Brett Hull Scores 614th Career Goal

D A L L A S, Oct. 13 -- After passing his father on the NHL’s careerscoring list earlier this week, Brett Hull set his sights on one ofhis contemporaries.

Hull was a child when his father, Bobby, was setting scoringrecords in the 1960s. What made Thursday night special for BrettHull was the fact that he moved ahead of Mario Lemieux, scoringtwice to send the Dallas Stars to a 4-1 victory over thePhiladelphia Flyers.

Hull’s 613th goal, scored in the second period, tied him withLemieux for eighth place. His third-period tally pushed him pastthe former Pittsburgh star and current Penguins owner.

“I played against Mario, so that makes it special,” Hull said.“He’s a friend of mine. We’ve played golf and spent some timetogether. He’s a real gentleman and I consider it a privilege to bementioned along with him.”

Hull insists he’s unworthy to be in such elite company. He’snever been considered a superior skater or stickhandler, but hisgoal-scoring places him among the giants in the game.

“It’s a great feeling to know you’re a part of the history ofthe game,” Hull said. “It’s something you can only dream of, tobe at that peak.

“But I don’t consider myself a great player. I can score goals,but I don’t look at myself at that level.”

Belfour Makes 26 Saves in Win

With regular center Mike Modano out with a lower back strain,Hull played on a line centered by Joe Nieuwendyk. Jere Lehtinen,playing the left side with Hull and Nieuwendyk, had a goal and anassist.

“They did some good things,” Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said ofthe makeshift line. “Brett’s already scored a lot for us thisseason.”

Ed Belfour made 26 saves for the Stars.

Simon Gagne scored a second-period goal for the Flyers, 1-2-1after reaching last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

Dallas took a 1-0 lead at 11:45 of the first period onLehtinen’s deflection, his first goal of the season. Hull was alonein front of the net to knock in the rebound of Lehtinen’s shot andmake it 2-0 at 1:41 of the second.