Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars became the all-time goals leader among American-born players Saturday night, when he scored his 503rd goal in the Stars’ 3-2 loss to Nashville. Modano passed Joe Mullen, the only other American-born NHL player to score 500 career goals.

On Friday, Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier scored both of the Lightning’s goals in a 3-2 loss to Buffalo. In his eighth NHL season, he has easily topped his single-season highs with 48 goals and 48 assists. The league leader in goals is just two points shy of reaching 500 for his career.

Modano is putting the finishing touches on an illustrious career while Lecavalier, who turns 27 in April, is enjoying a breakout season. What they have in common is that they are the NHL’s goal-scoring leaders in March.

Goal Leaders in March

Player, Tm. . . . . . . . . . . Gms. . . . . . . . Goals
Vincent Lecavalier, TB. . . . 7. . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mike Modano, Dal. . . . . . . 9. . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Jeff Cowan, Van. . . . . . . . 9. . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Andy McDonald, Anh. . . . . 8. . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Lecavalier has been setting a blistering pace since the start of the new year. In 2007, he has 27 goals and 47 points in just 33 games. His revitalized team has gone 21-10-2 in that stretch.

Also on a scoring binge is Anaheim’s Andy McDonald, who has five goals and three assists in his last four games for the Ducks. Since Feb. 25, McDonald has eight goals and eight assists while his team has gone 8-0-2. For the season, he has 24 goals and 47 assists, though he may fall short of matching the single-season highs of 34 goals and 51 assists that he recorded in his breakout 2005-06.

Vancouver’s Jeff Cowan has scored six goals all season, with all of them coming in the first four games of March. Although he has failed to score a goal in five subsequent games, his monthly total nearly matches the seven goals a year he has averaged over his six full seasons in the NHL.