Stars C Modano becomes second American with 500 goals

Mar 14, 2007 - 3:48 AM DALLAS (Ticker) -- Mike Modano is in exclusive company.

Modano became the second United States-born player to score 500 goals in the NHL on Tuesday, when he netted the milestone tally in the Dallas Stars' 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

With the tally, Modano joins Hall of Famer Joey Mullen as the only American-born players to reach the plateau. The 36-year-old Michigan native is the 39th player overall in league history to notch 500 tallies.

Entering with three goals in his previous five games, Modano scored the monumental goal at 9:36 of the third period against Philadelphia goaltender Antero Niittymaki, giving Dallas a 3-1 lead. It proved to be the game-winner as the Flyers tallied with 77 seconds remaining in the contest.

The first overall pick of the Minnesota North Stars in 1988, Modano needs three goals to move ahead of Mullen, who scored 502 times in 1,062 career games.

Boston native Jeremy Roenick of the Phoenix Coyotes, who has just seven tallies this season, needs nine more to join Modano and Mullen as Americans in the 500-goal club.