RALEIGH, N.C. -- They are called goal-scorer's goals. The kind of goals that only someone with ridiculous skill can score.

Mike Bossy used to score them. Mario Lemieux, between injuries, still scores them. And so does Red Wings' sniper Brett Hull, who also happens to specialize in timely ones.

On Saturday night, Hull tallied another.

With just 74 seconds remaining in regulation time, the future Hall of Famer threw a wet blanket on the loud party at a crazed Entertainment and Sports Arena. Hull's goal forced overtime (and overtime and overtime) in a thrilling Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals, eventually won by Detroit, 3-2.

Now, the Wings hold a 2-1 series lead and have regained home-ice advantage. And, maybe, just maybe, they've finally calmed these dangerous Hurricanes.

For all that, the Red Wings can thank Hull, who was a late -- and smart -- free-agent signing last August. After Game 3, though, Hull wasn't taking any credit.

"It was just dumb luck," said Hull, who has 99 career playoff goals. "For that puck to go where it did, and to be able to tip it, it's just a great feeling."

Now, if it had been someone else, maybe you could chalk it up to dumb luck. But Hull has done it too many times for it to be happenstance.

First, you have to position yourself to be in the right spot. You have to be willing to pay the price for that valuable piece of ice. Hull always has been willing to pay that price.

On this occasion, like one of those weebles that are impossible to knock down, Hull positioned himself in the high slot. Hurricanes defenseman Sean Hill battered Hull, but couldn't get him out of his spot.

In that moment, Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom (who received a perfect 40-foot tape-to-tape pass from Sergei Fedorov) wristed a shot toward the 'Canes goal. As the waist-high shot fluttered by Hull, he managed to deflect the puck downward. Already committed in one direction, Hurricanes goalie Arturs Irbe could do nothing as the puck slid between his legs.

"It's the kind of goal that really tips the scales," said Hull, who assisted on Detroit's first goal of the night. "They go from thinking they're going to win -- and us thinking we could be down 2-1 in the series -- to the game being tied."

In the thrill of the moment, Hull claimed it was the biggest goal of his amazing career. But, he might want to rethink that statement in the morning. There's at least one other goal -- also scored in the wee hours of a Sunday morning -- which looms larger. That goal clinched a Stanley Cup for Dallas Stars in 1999.

And like the one he scored against the Hurricanes, it was a goal-scorer's goal. The kind of goal that only goes into the net for the special few. Again, in Game 3, Hull reminded everyone that he stands among those few.

E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.