Frozen Moment: Hull polishes off Game 2 win
By Joe Lago
ESPN.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Larry Robinson thought it was clearly offsides. Brett Hull, like the instinctive
sniper he is, merely saw another scoring chance developing in the corner of
his eye.
|  | | Hull got just enough of his stick on Lehtinen's volley to win the game and even the series. |
Nonetheless, the play that formed the game-winning goal in the Dallas Stars'
2-1 win over New Jersey was the product of Mike Modano's determination, Jere Lehtinen's good fortune and
Hull's appetite for offense.
"I just threw my stick out there," Hull said of his series-tying goal off
a deflection with 4:16 to play. "I didn't know that it went in until I saw
Mike raise his arms."
Hull raised his stick just in time to redirect Lehtinen's shot under Martin Brodeur's glove. But
Lehtinen's shot wasn't a shot, really. It was actually a near-whiff as he
caught just enough of the puck with his stick to push it toward the net.
There was some doubt as to whether the Stars left winger was onside when
Modano gathered the puck just inside the New Jersey blue line. Robinson, the
Devils' head coach, claimed Lehtinen was "four feet" offside.
"I don't know," Hull said. "All I saw was Jere going wide, so I went to the
net."
Modano couldn't say if Lehtinen was offside or not, either. He did see
defenseman Richard Matvichuk
make a good play to keep the Devils from clearing the zone.
"I was able to get (the puck) -- get (inside) the blue line, and I knew
(Jason) Arnott was on me," said Modano, who redeemed himself from a
no-point, minus-3 effort with a two-assist, plus-2 performance. "But I was
able to hold on tight a little longer and let Jere come through the middle.
He got a shot off, and Brett tipped it."
The goal moved Hull into sixth place on the all-time playoff goal list,
breaking a tie with his father, Hall of Famer Bobby Hull. It also gave the
younger Hull his 15th career multi-goal playoff game, and he is second all-time with 21 career playoff game-winning goals -- three behind Wayne Gretzky.
Hull's first goal Thursday night gave the Stars a
1-0 lead 4:25 into the first period.
"After Game 1, there was always that little bit of doubt, a little bit of
fear in everybody," Hull said. "But you take a look at the people in the
room ... it just made you feel like we were going to come out and play a
much better game."
Hull is having a much better postseason after a frustrating regular season.
He has a playoff-best 11 goals in 19 games after managing just 24 goals in
79 regular-season games.
"I've played with Brett in St. Louis and the last two years, and I can
guarantee you that he's played like this since the start of the season. The
puck just didn't go in for him," Guy Carbonneau said. "They'd hit
his stick or pad or the goalie would make a hell of a save. It seems like
these playoffs, he doesn't talk as much. But he's talking on the ice."
Hull says he's speaking softly and carrying a big stick by choice.
"I let them do all the talking," he said of his teammates. "I usually get
myself in trouble anyway." |
