Brett Hull Left Speechless!

Well, not quite. But The Man With The Shot fumbled for words to put his latest milestone into perspective. After scoring last night's game-winner against the Los Angeles Kings, Hull trails only Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky on the list of greatest lamp-lighters in NHL history.

Hull scored his 732nd career goal in overtime, giving the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 win over L.A. It was a classic Brett Hull finish - a precise one-timer on a cross-ice feed from defenseman Mathieu Schneider - moving him past Marcel Dionne and into third place on the all-time scoring list.

Gretzky leads the career scoresheet with 894 goals. Howe is second with 801.

Gretzky's mark is out of reach. But closing the 69-goal gap to catch Gordie is a definite possibility for Hull. At the age of 39, hockey's biggest loudmouth shows no signs of slowing down. Number 732 was also Hull's 16th goal this season. Only Ilya Kovalchuk and Rick Nash have more. Neither of them were old enough for pre-school when Hull played his first NHL game back in 1986.

"I'm dumbfounded," he told reporters after receiving congratulations from Howe, who attended last night's game. "I'm not at a loss for words very often, but I don't know how to explain it. I just wanted one day to play in the league, give it a shot, see what I could do."

The Detroit Free Press has further details on the big night at Joe Louis Arena.