Happy Hull-o-ween!

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Brett Hull came up big time on Halloween night, scoring an assist and two goals, including the game winner, as the Red Wings took revenge on the Dallas Stars, 4-3.

The Stars opened the scoring just over four minutes into the game. Joe Nieuwendyk was in the penalty box for high-sticking, giving the Red Wings a power play opportunity, but Jere Lehtinen was able to pick up the puck on a breakaway from Mike Modano and tip it in behind goalie Manny Legace.

The Wings came back only thirty seconds later. Hull passed to Nicklas Lidstrom, who got the puck to Sergei Fedorov. Fedorov shot the puck while Ed Belfour was screened, and it went into the net to tie the game.

The Stars scored again with 9:05 left in the period. Donald Audette picked up a pass from Sergei Zubov, squeezed between two Red Wings defensemen, and slid the puck under Legace’s left side.

Detroit then scored twice in quick succession. Hull got the equalizer with 7:42 left to play. The Stars’ Brenden Morrow and Detroit’s Maxim Kuznetsov were given offsetting penalties for slashing thirty seconds later. In the resulting four-on-four play, Brendan Shanahan tipped in a shot from the right point by Fredrik Olausson.

The Wings were not able to take their lead into the locker room for break, however. Benoit Hogue picked up an errant pass and fired from the blue line to get past Legace with less than four minutes left in the period.

The second and third periods were both scoreless. Both teams were able to generate multiple opportunities, including four Dallas power plays in a row in the second period, but solid play from Legace and Belfour kept the score even until the overtime.

Only forty-three seconds in, Hull took the pass from Lidstrom and beat Belfour on a three-on-one rush.

Legace stopped twenty shots in his second game back since his neck injury in Saturday night’s game against the Nashville Predators, bringing his record for the season to 4-0-0, and extending his unbeaten streak to fifteen games. The Red Wings generated twenty-eight shots against Belfour.

The Red Wings season record of 11-2-0 is the best thirteen game start in franchise history, and now leads the NHL. They hope to improve to twelve wins Friday night when the team in the second position, the New York Islanders, bring Chris Osgood back to Detroit to play against his old team.


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