News from April 2002
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V. Bure remains upbeat It wasn't only Pavel Bure who made his first public appearance at National Car Rental Center since the Mar. 18 trade from Panthers to Rangers. Saturday, in the press box, was also the first Valeri Bure sighting by anybody outside the locker room. The day after his brother's trade, it was announced Valeri would be out for the season with a recurrence of the knee problems that took him out of 37 games earlier this season. He had more cartilage-repair surgery on March 21 that ended his season with only 31 games played. Still, he doesn't consider it a lost season nor does he figure he will have a tough time going back into a locker room that has shown public discontent with his brother. ''It's obviously not the year I was hoping for,'' Bure said. ``But I can get a lot of things out of it. I got a chance to play with my brother. I got to assist on his 400th goal. That's big for me. And I got the chance to play in the Olympic Games.'' The number of Panthers games with both Bures in the lineup was only 26 -- with some strange symmetry. The game before Valeri came back from his knee injury, Pavel suffered a broken hand against Dallas. Both played their last game of the season as Panthers on March 17 against Ottawa -- Valeri was injured that evening, and Pavel was traded the next day. ''I was disappointed, of course,'' Valeri said. ``I didn't want to see my brother leave under any circumstances. I know he wanted to stay here and he loved this city, but that's the way it goes.'' Bure's right knee was bothering him coming out of training camp and early in the season. The Panthers have insisted that the cartilage injury Bure got Oct. 16 in Vancouver had nothing to do with the previous problems. That would be easier to swallow if Bure hadn't been limping badly the night before the Vancouver game. Bure just started bike riding in his current rehabilitation. Even if he can get back on the ice by the April 26 start of the World Championships, he said he won't play. He wants to give his knee time to fully recover. ''I think we'll stay here for a little bit,'' he said. ``My kids are still in school. We like it here. Then, we'll do a little traveling.'' What also might take time to recover is the relationship between Bure and the teammates who criticized his older brother after the trade. The brothers lead very different lives, but their familial bond is strong. ''I have a slim chance of playing this year, and there are going to be so many changes in the summer, it'll be a completely different team,'' Valeri Bure said. ''There's nothing you can do about it,'' Bure said. ``The guys can say whatever they want. Obviously, they have a right to say whatever they want. That's the way they handle themselves. If you ask me if I think it's right, no. ``I know what kind of person my brother is. His friends know what kind of person he is and what kind of player. He's the best player the Panthers ever had and probably will ever have. He's a legend.''
Bure speaks up for brother
Valeri Bure knows his brother better than pretty much anyone. But he's not about to keep explaining that no matter what you've heard, Pavel really is a good person.
Bure Celebrates With a Wink and a Nod Pavel Bure celebrated his 31st birthday a day early and with flair on Saturday night against his most recent ex-teammates, the Florida Panthers. He scored a goal, his fifth in six games since joining the Rangers. That was not unusual for Bure, the purest goal scorer in the game. But the way he celebrated raised some eyebrows. Without a sound, he raised his stick with his right arm in a pose reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty. As half of a rare sellout crowd at the National Car Rental Center booed and the other half cheered, Bure winked at a section behind the goal. "I have a lot of friends here," Bure said after assisting on two other goals in a 4-2 victory, the Rangers' second in nine games. "I was winking at my friends." Bure might as well have been winking at his critics, including some of his former teammates on the Panthers. Bure was bored in South Florida on a young team that was attempting to rebuild. As Panthers Coach Mike Keenan said before sending him to the Rangers, Bure never had an All-Star center who could bring out his best. That is certainly not the case with the Rangers. Bure joined a star-studded, if perennially underachieving, cast. "That's the difference," he said today. "When you are playing with great players like Mark Messier and Eric Lindros, it's much easier. I played one year with Mark in Vancouver, and I scored 51 goals right away." Rangers General Manager Glen Sather must be wondering how many goals Bure could score playing a full season on Lindros's right wing. In a bid to strengthen the Rangers' push for a playoff berth — an effort that now seems doomed — and to bolster his offense for at least the next two seasons, Sather acquired Bure for a song from Florida. The Panthers mostly wanted to rid themselves of Bure's attitude, not to mention the two guaranteed seasons at $10 million each remaining on his contract. Should the Rangers not pick up Bure's $11 million option in 2004-5, the Panthers are obligated to pick up his buyout. That is a long way off, however. Sather wanted to trade for Bure now because he hoped that Bure's blazing skating ability and shot, which earned him the nickname the Russian Rocket, would open up room on the ice for Lindros. Bure has done nothing to disappoint. "He's opened up the ice," Lindros said today. In six games with Bure on his right, Lindros, like Bure, has scored five goals. Lindros blasted home the Rangers' final two goals on Saturday night, including the game-winner, giving him a team-leading 33 goals. Lindros, Bure and their newest linemate, Martin Rucinsky, scored all four Rangers goals Saturday. The Rangers will most likely find themselves without a playoff berth for the fifth consecutive season. With six games to play, they trail Montreal and Washington for the eighth Eastern Conference playoff spot. If the Canadiens go 3-4 in their final seven games, or if the Capitals go 3-3 in their final six games, the Rangers will need to win every game to qualify. After Saturday's much-needed victory, Lindros was asked if he wished that the Rangers had had more time to integrate Bure and their other recent acquisitions — Rucinsky, Tom Poti and Rem Murray — into the lineup. "We don't," he said. "You can't alter time. You can't go back and repeat some things or do things differently or ask for a two-week window where you could just practice. The situation is where we're at." And that is in dire straits. But Bure has already done enough in six games with the Rangers to provide one reason to look forward to next season.
Game Preview: Rangers versus Lightning
TV: MSG Network (7:00 PM ET)
Rangers-Lightning Scouting Report
WHO: New York Rangers vs. Lightning
Rangers 6, Lightning 4
The New York Rangers' slim playoff hopes are still alive.
Game Recap: NY Rangers versus Tampa Bay Lightning
Petr Nedved scored twice as the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-4 on Monday night.
Post-Game Notes: NY Rangers versus Tampa Bay
With only five games remaining in the regular season and the Rangers five points out of a playoff spot, all the Blueshirts can do is take one game at a time. That is exactly what they did Monday night as Pavel Bure tallied a pair of goals and added an assist and Petr Nedved chipped in a pair of goals to lead New York to a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Ice Palace. Notes Bure has now tallied seven goals and five assists for 12 points in his first seven games as a Ranger. Quotes PAVEL BURE:
Bure, Nedved Lead Rangers, 6-4
Pavel Bure tallied a pair of goals and added an assist and Petr Nedved chipped in a pair of goals, including the game-winner, to lead New York to a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Ice Palace on Monday.
Bure
Game Preview: Rangers versus Maple Leafs
TV: MSG Network (7:00 PM ET)
New York Rangers 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 2 The New York Rangers' three-game winning streak likely is too late. Pavel Bure scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 9:05 remaining, lifting the Rangers to a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Rangers have won three straight for the first time since late January, but they likely will miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season. New York is five points behind Montreal for the East's final playoff spot with four games remaining. The Rangers have not missed the playoffs in five consecutive seasons since 1950-55. Bure and Eric Lindros scored in the first period before the Leafs battled back to tie it early in the third. But Bure scored his 31st goal just past the midway point of the third, snapping a 2-2 tie. Rangers rookie goaltender Dan Blackburn finished with 35 saves. Blackburn had 19 saves in the second period, when New York's defense collapsed on numerous occasions. Prior to Alexander Mogilny's sharp angle goal, Blackburn robbed Alyn McCauley with a glove save. McCauley had broken free in the neutral zone and with New York defenseman Tom Poti trying to stay with him, he fired a hard shot that Blackburn stopped. Blackburn has started every game since impending free agent Mike Richter went down with a fractured skull on March 22. "We got a great job by Danny in net," Lindros said. "There were times where we really got outplayed. That second period we got outplayed. But if it wasn't for Danny we wouldn't be walking out of here with two points." "We kind of fell apart a little bit," Poti added. "I thought we might have had the game won a bit. We kind of took it a bit easy. But Danny bailed us out and we came out and had a strong third." Bure teamed with Lindros to give New York a 1-0 lead 54 seconds into the contest. Lindros stole the puck from Cory Cross from behind the net and fed Bure, who batted the puck out of mid-air past goaltender Corey Schwab. Lindros made it 2-0 at 10:14 of the first, re-directing Poti's centering pass behind Schwab. Less than three minutes into the second, the Leafs finally got some momentum and halved the deficit when Mogiliny beat Blackburn off a 2-on-1.
Post-Game Notes: NY Rangers versus Toronto Maple Leafs
Dan Blackburn made 35 saves and the Pavel Bure-Eric Lindros-Martin Rucinsky trio collected seven points as the Rangers skated past the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2, at the Air Canada Centre.
Bure Propels Rangers Pavel Bure has been far and away the Rangers' best player since Glen Sather, the Rangers' president and general manager, acquired him from the Florida Panthers on March 18, on the eve of the trading deadline. But Bure's nightly accomplishments will probably serve as little more than a preview of things to come next season. Even though the Rangers won their third consecutive game tonight, a 4-2 decision over the Toronto Maple Leafs, behind two goals from Bure, they moved one step closer to missing out on the playoffs again. Montreal, which holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, beat the slumping Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1. Now with any combination of two Montreal victories or Rangers defeats, the Rangers will equal the franchise record for futility with their fifth straight spring without playoffs. The Rangers have four games left, the Canadiens five. "If we keep winning games, at least we keep pressing them," Rangers Coach Ron Low said. The Rangers may wonder what would have happened if they had been able to acquire the 31-year-old Bure a few weeks earlier. In eight games with the Rangers, Bure has nine goals and five assists. "All I know is that pretty much every time he touches the puck, it's in the net," said Dan Blackburn, the Rangers' 18-year-old goaltender, who stopped 35 shots tonight and kept the Rangers in the game during the second period, when they were outshot, 20-5. "Except," Blackburn said with a smile, "when there's no one in front of the net."Blackburn was referring to the empty net that Bure missed in the final minute, after Toronto had pulled goaltender Corey Schwab. Bure said he was caught by surprise by Martin Rucinsky's unselfish attempt to get Bure his first hat trick with the Rangers. "That's O.K.," Bure said. "We didn't need it." The Rangers obviously needed Bure's presence earlier this season, however. "He's having fun," Bure's new center, Eric Lindros, said at this morning's skate. "He wants to be in New York. And that's a big advantage for us." Lately, it seems as if Bure and Lindros have made up the offense. Tonight Bure opened the scoring 54 seconds into the game with his 30th goal of the season, a goal that put his tremendous hand-eye coordination on display when he batted Lindros's centering pass out of midair. Not to be outdone, Lindros gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead at 10:14 of the first period with his team-leading 34th goal of the season. It came from just off the right wing post on a backhanded deflection of a pretty Tom Poti centering pass. Lindros's score gave the Rangers an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal. For the next period and a half, the Leafs rattled off 28 of the next 33 shots while tying the score at 2-2 early in the third period. Bure's old Soviet-era linemate, Alexander Mogilny, was able to cut the Rangers' lead to 2-1 at 2:26 of the second period with his 22nd goal of the season. Then, with Theo Fleury in the penalty box to start the third period, Mogilny set up Mikael Renberg for the tying goal at 43 seconds of the third period. But Lindros and Bure kept working. At 10:55, Bure gave the Rangers the lead at 3-2 with his 31st goal of the season, after Lindros knocked the rebound of his own shot from the slot over to the uncovered Bure just off the right post. Matthew Barnaby finished the scoring at 14:15. Lindros now has six goals and six assists for 12 points in eight games with Bure. Together, the two have combined for 15 goals and 11 assists and 26 points.
Leafs Blackburned
Bure, Big E potent 1-2 punch
Rangers: Going strong, but it's getting late The Rangers are clicking. The top line of Martin Rucinsky, Eric Lindros and Pavel Bure is finding chemistry and scoring goals. Dan Blackburn is holding his own in net. The team is on a three-game winning streak. And it doesn't matter, because Montreal keeps winning, too. The Rangers picked up their third victory in a row last night with a 4-2 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre, establishing their first three-game winning streak since late January. In doing so, they jumped over Buffalo into 10th place in the Eastern Conference with 76 points. But they got no closer to their target, the final playoff spot held by the eighth-place Canadiens. Montreal beat Philadelphia, 3-1, to remain five points ahead of the Rangers, who have just four games left to Montreal's five. By the time the first period was over in Toronto, the out-of-town scoreboard showed Montreal ahead, 2-0, on the Flyers, and the Rangers knew it. "The guys came in and talked about it in the dressing room," head coach Ron Low said. "We said it didn't matter. We have to win our games. If they (the Canadiens) don't falter, then we don't catch them. But if we keep winning games, then at least we keep pressing them." The Rangers are as loose as they've been this year. They have nothing to lose. The temptation is there, though, to wonder where they'd be had this occurred when there was still a chance to hold onto a playoff spot. Matthew Barnaby, who scored the Rangers' fourth goal, was asked if part of him wishes his team had gone on a run weeks and weeks ago, and he cut off the question. "Months and months ago, yeah," Barnaby said. "On the other hand, you can't control what happened in the past. You've got to control what's happening now. You're only human with the 'what ifs,' but now we're doing what we want to and hopefully we get a little help." The Rucinsky-Lindros-Bure line is doing its part. Bure scored twice against Toronto, giving him nine goals in eight games with the Rangers. Lindros added a goal and two assists while Rucinsky had two assists. They are combining for some pretty goals -- Bure batted a pass from Lindros out of the air for his first tally on the night. "That was one of my patented saucers," Lindros joked. "He's done that before, knocked one out of the air. He's real good with his hand-eye coordination, and he's intense around that net. He doesn't often miss." Lindros grew serious when the topic turned to the standings. If the Rangers lose in Boston tomorrow, and Montreal wins at home against Columbus, the Rangers will be mathematically eliminated from the race. "At the end of the year, you look back at what's gone on, you look back at the points you've let go," Lindros said. "But that's not going to help us win our remaining games. We'll just keep going."
Bure can't survive as solo act The search for the true Pavel Bure has been ongoing for 11 seasons. A succession of mediocre centers has failed to locate him to full advantage in the offensive zone. When Bure looks the other way in his own zone, a line of coaches has necessarily done the same thing. A large number of disapproving teammates have rolled eyes at Bure's absences in the dressing room. "If they spent five minutes in the dressing room they wouldn't be speaking negatively about the trade," said Panthers goalie Trevor Kidd, who was happy to become Bure's ex-teammate on March 18. "Everyone that has been around him knows what he brings to the table. Goals and that's it." Bill Lindsay said that for $10 million a year, Bure could show up earlier. But a tough coach who has unabashedly showed up stars and made a career of early size-ups has nothing but good things to say, even after trading Bure to the Rangers. "I never had a problem with the way he played defense," Mike Keenan said. "He cheats like great goal-scorers should cheat, but he would pick up his guy when he could." "Pavel is an artist like Wayne Gretzky was an artist and Wayne was misunderstood at first, too. Difference was, he had Mark Messier and Kevin Lowe with him, which enabled him to have free reign and nobody understood the importance of giving it to him better than Glen Sather." "So Pavel doesn't sit in the dressing room between periods. Big deal, Wayne didn't, either. Pavel is a good person and an interesting person. He goes to the ballet, does a lot of reading." "He works out constantly, is in phenomenal shape. He did what the Panthers got him to do, won two Rocket Richard Trophies and last year the team still had only 66 points. That's his fault?" Well, yeah say the critics who see the Russian Rocket firing into a desert for all the good he has done any team since getting the 1994 Canucks to the final, never mind those teams have not been any good. If you watched Bure debuting on Broadway with a goal, then a sloppy third period stick-checking that Todd Bertuzi converted into another Ranger loss, you saw what you have always seen. And if you also noticed Theoren Fleury and Petr Nedved giving the Rangers nothing and the team's defense throwing the puck away like Madison Square Gardens dollars, you understand the only thing changed for Bure was his uniform. He still was failing to lift a bad team. If the bomb in Eric Lindros' head stays dormant and his sporadic orthopedic woes abate, perhaps finally Bure will have a center who sees the ice well enough to take down the dressing-room time clock that has obsessed the sluggos with which he has played. They would give their right leg to have the talent the five-time 50-plus goal scorer has in his middle finger. And they think Bure is flashing it at them with his nonchalance. It doesn't take genius to understand why they feel the way they do and also that genius is hard for hard workers to understand. We're not pretending to be so smart, either, only experienced enough to know what time Bure shows up will cease to be an issue in a New York minute if, on the ice, he shows up in the right places at the right times for an improved team. Bure is a goal-scorer. What he needs is the opportunity to score goals that count, preferably for a team that has someone else to deliver it's speeches. "What's missing from Pavel's game has been a situation where the game means something," Mark Messier said. "I spent a lot of time with him in Vancouver and my experience is he is a quiet kid and a good guy. Just because you don't spend a lot of time with a lot of guys on the team doesn't mean you are not a good team guy. What has to happen is that when you come into a dressing room we all conform to a common goal and I haven't seen any problem with Pavel doing that."
The real problem will be if Bure has joined a team that doesn't soon become better than the one he departed. Sure, a true superstar is supposed to make the players around him better. It helps a superstar do that if there are better players around him.
Game Preview: Rangers versus Boston Bruins
TV: MSG Network (12:30 PM ET)
Rangers 6, Boston Bruins 4 The New York Rangers kept their flickering playoff hopes alive with yet another unlikely road win, this one at the expense of the top team in the Eastern Conference. Petr Nedved scored his 19th and 20th goals and Matthew Barnaby had a goal and two assists as the Rangers posted a 6-4 victory over the Boston Bruins. The win was the fourth straight -- all on the road -- for the Rangers, who beat playoff-bound Toronto on Thursday night and pulled within three points of the Montreal Canadiens for the eighth and final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference. However, the Rangers have just three games left and the Canadiens host the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night and have five games remaining. The Washington Capitals are two points ahead of the Rangers with four games left. The Nedved-Matthew Barnaby-Sandy McCarthy line staked the Rangers to a 3-0 lead in the first 13:53. Nedved had the first goals of the game off passes from Barnaby and McCarthy scored off a deflection. The Rangers' top line of Eric Lindros-Pavel Bure-Martin Rucinsky accounted for the next two goals, giving the Rangers a 5-2 advantage. Lindros took a pass from Rucinsky in front and scored his 35th goal of the season in the second period and Rucinsky fired a wrist shot from the top of the left circle past goaltender Byron Dafoe in the third period. Bure assisted on both goals. But Boston, which leads Philadelphia by five points in the battle for the top spot in the East, pulled within 5-4 on goals by Bill Guerin and Sergei Samsonov. But Barnaby scored into an empty net with 39 seconds left to seal the win. The Rangers are in danger of missing the playoffs for the fifth straight year, a run of failure unmatched in franchise history since 1951-55. But they managed to win the season series from the Bruins, 3-1, with Saturday's victory.
Post-Game Notes: NY Rangers versus Boston Bruins
The Rangers picked up their fourth consecutive win, sweeping their four-game road trip, as they skated past the Boston Bruins, 6-4, on Saturday at the FleetCenter.
NY Rangers eliminated from playoffs The Montreal Canadiens know who has brought them to the doorstep of the playoffs -- goalie Jose Theodore. ``I just can't put it into words how great he's played,'' Canadiens center Shaun Van Allen said after Theodore made 34 saves in a 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night. The win moved Montreal to within one win of securing a playoff berth. ``I think he's got to be the MVP -- he's definitely the MVP on our team, and he's definitely got a shot in the league,'' said Van Allen, who had his fifth career two-goal game as the Canadiens extended their winning streak to a season-high six games. Theodore has allowed five goals over the course of the streak. ``He makes unbelievable saves,'' Van Allen said. ``He gives us a chance every night, and it gives you a lot of confidence knowing you can make a mistake up front or something and Jose's going to be there to stop it.'' With 85 points, Montreal increased its lead over Washington to five points and Buffalo to six in its bid to make the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. Each team has three games left to play, but the Canadiens can clinch their first playoff appearance since 1997-98 with a win, two points or a Capitals loss in any of those games. Montreal just needs one point to eliminate Buffalo. The Canadiens' win also eliminated the New York Rangers.
It's Official: Rangers out! This was the morning of April 4, 2002, at the Garden, and the Rangers had just finished posing for their team picture. Dave Checketts was talking to The Post about the disappointment of missing the playoffs again when Glen Sather moseyed by. "This is the last time," the GM interjected. "The last time." It was the last time - until this time. The last year - until this year. The inevitable arrived, as, by definition, it always does. It arrived last night when the Canadiens defeated the Senators 3-1 in Ottawa for their sixth straight victory, and thus eliminated the Rangers from postseason play for the fifth straight year. And so Game 80 of the season tonight at the Garden against the Penguins becomes an exercise in excess. That's what going 9-22-1-2 from Dec. 31 through March 27 brings with it. That's what losing four of five immediately after the trade deadline does. That's what having the league's second-worst defensive record earns. Missing the NHL playoffs five straight years isn't merely as bad as it sounds, it's worse. A little historical perspective: ? The Rangers now have the third-longest current tournament drought in the league, trailing only fellow laughingstocks Calgary and Tampa Bay, each of whom have been out since 1997. The Flames, by the way, have established the remarkable record of going 13 straight years without winning a single playoff round since their 1989 Stanley Cup championship. ? This marks only the 20th time in NHL history that a team has missed five straight years. Among franchises in the league long enough to qualify, 15 never accomplished the dubious feat: Anaheim; Buffalo; Minnesota/Dallas; Edmonton; Florida; Los Angeles; Montreal Canadiens; Montreal Maroons; Ottawa (old); Ottawa (new); Winnipeg/Phoenix; St. Louis; San Jose; Toronto; Vancouver. ? The Rangers are the only franchise in league history to miss at least five straight years on three different occasions. The Blueshirts previously missed from 1943-47 and from 1951-55. Overall, the Rangers have missed the playoffs 28 times in their 76-year history, more than any other of the Original Six. ? Among teams missing at least five straight, the Penguins and Bruins got to the Stanley Cup quickest by winning three years after ending their respective droughts, Pittsburgh in 1991 after being out from 1983-88, Boston in 1970 after missing from 1960-67. Other post-expansion winners: Colorado in 1996, four years after the Nordiques missed from 1988-92; and New Jersey in 1995, eight years after the Rockies and Devils had missed from 1979-87.
It's Official: Rangers out!
The Rangers had a nice little run over the past week, but the inevitable end to their playoff hopes arrived around 10 p.m. last night. That's when the Canadiens beat the Senators for their sixth straight victory and officially eliminated the Rangers. It is the fifth straight season the Rangers will miss the playoffs.
Rangers: Playoff hopes finished What every reasonable person has known for quite some time, and what has been abundantly certain since that dreadful 5-2 home-ice loss to Atlanta on March 22, became official last night. The Rangers, for a fifth season in a row, are not going to the playoffs. They were mathematically eliminated when the streaking Montreal Canadiens won their sixth game in a row last night, 3-1 over the Senators in Ottawa. Had Montreal tied or lost, the Rangers would still be barely alive with three games remaining. But the Canadiens' victory over Columbus on Saturday had placed the Rangers on the brink, despite a four-game winning streak of their own. With the Saturday win, Montreal needed just two more points, or one Rangers loss. The Rangers, who had cut the Habs' lead to three points with their 6-4 win in Boston Saturday afternoon, saw their tragic number of four points disappear without even playing another game. So the Rangers' season is ending minus playoffs for a fifth year in a row -- a streak the franchise hasn't seen since the five-year drought from 1950-51 through 1954-55. It also marks the first time in 25 years that both Madison Square Garden residents, the Knicks and the Rangers, have missed the playoffs in the same season. Most Rangers watchers have seen this coming for half a season now, despite the mirage of a four-game winning streak this past week. In December, the Rangers were in first place not only in their division, but also in the Eastern Conference, largely thanks to the goaltending of Mike Richter, playing behind a porous defense and a hideous penalty-killing unit; and to the FLY line of Theo Fleury, Eric Lindros and Mike York. On Dec. 28 in San Jose, in the first game of what promised to be a difficult six-game trip, Lindros suffered the seventh concussion of his career and Fleury received a game misconduct and had an alleged altercation with the Sharks' mascot. The Rangers, starting on New Year's Eve, won nine of 34 games. Lindros, who also suffered knee and foot injuries, wasn't the same dominant player until the last two weeks. Fleury's personal family problems, and his short temper, became issues for the team, and he has fallen off sharply offensively in the second half (he'll probably be asked back for the option year of his contract). And York was ultimately traded to Edmonton for Tom Poti and Rem Murray, two players who have had almost no impact to date. Also during that trip, Mark Messier's shoulder injury proved to be more serious than originally thought, virtually ending his season. Then Richter suffered a fractured skull, which ended his season, early in that Atlanta disaster at the Garden, a must game in which the Rangers never competed, against a watered-down, 30th-place team starting a goalie who had never started an NHL game. So the Rangers will finish the season starting tonight against Pittsburgh, undoubtedly with the "Low Must Go" chant ringing for coach Ron Low's job (he has never had a winning season); with booing for Petr Nedved, who suffered through an awful season; and with general disdain over the team's five straight non-playoff seasons, with little hope for the immediate future. Oh, yes, the Rangers have lost five in a row and 10 of their last 13 at the Garden.
Game Preview: NY Rangers versus Pittsburgh Penguins
TV: MSG Network (6:30 PM ET)
NY Rangers 3, Pittsburgh 2 Rookie Dan Blackburn stopped 20 shots for an historic fifth straight win and Pavel Bure scored twice as the New York Rangers held on for a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Still just 18, Blackburn became the third teenager in NHL history to record five straight wins, joining Allan Bester and Tom Barrasso. One night after the Rangers were eliminated from postseason contention for the fifth year in a row, Bure opened the scoring 3:22 into the second period. He took a pass in front from defenseman Tom Poti and flipped the puck past goaltender Johan Hedberg for his 32nd goal. With 5:01 left in the third period, Bure got a pass from Martin Rucinsky in the left faceoff circle, moved right and beat Hedberg with a backhander for his 11th goal in 10 games with the Rangers. Bure was acquired from Florida on March 18.
Post-Game Notes: NY Rangers versus Pittsburgh Penguins
 Pavel Bure tallied a pair of goals and Eric Lindros notched the game-winner with 3:21 remaining in the third period to propel the Rangers past the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2, on Monday at MSG. The win extended the Blueshirts' winning streak to five games, marking their second longest streak of the season. Dan Blackburn turned aside 26 of 28 shots in becoming only the second goalie in NHL history under the age of 19 to post a five-game winning streak. Tom Barasso posted a five and six game winning streak as a rookie with the Buffalo Sabres in 1983-84. Bure extended his scoring streak to six games and has now collected 18 points (11 goals, seven assists) in 10 games since joining the Rangers on March 18. Lindros has now notched points in 10 of the last 11 games, posting nine goals and seven assists over the span. Martin Rucinsky, who collected a pair of assists in the win, has now tallied three goals and six assists in the last five games. Jan Hrdina and Brad Ference scored for Pittsburgh, who have now lost seven consecutive games. Johan Hedberg stopped 18 of 21 shots in the loss. The Blueshirts conclude their 2001-02 home schedule on Wednesday as they host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Fan Appreciation Night (7:00 PM ET - MSG Network, WFAN 660 AM).
Pavel Bure timepiece sells for $1250 at charity auction
 A timepiece, donated by Pavel Bure was auctioned off for $1250 at the "Gala Dinner and Auction" on Sunday, April 7 in Vancouver. It came with a came with a signed Certificate of Authenticity. The funds raised were for the benefit of the B.C. Lions Society for Children with Diabilities.
Bure's Contributions Keep Rangers Upbeat
Pavel Bure has that radiant smile, and he's been showing it often in his first three weeks as a Ranger. He smiled again after practice yesterday when someone wondered aloud what the Rangers' fate would be had Bure joined the team two weeks earlier than March 18.
Game Preview: Rangers versus Toronto Maple Leafs
The Rangers will play their final home game of the 2001-2002 season tonight as they meet the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Rangers will try to even the season series with the Leafs tonight as Toronto captured back-to-back matches on December 6th at MSG (6-3) and on December 8th at the Air Canada Centre (4-3). New York won in Toronto last Thursday, registering a 4-2 win. On the season, the Rangers have gone 19-18-2-1 at The Garden heading into tonight and are 36-36-4-4 for 80 points through 80 matches overall. Toronto has posted a 40-25-10-4 and 94 points in 79 games this season and hold a two point lead over Ottawa for the fourth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Following tonight's contest New York will wrap up the season on Saturday afternoon at the First Union Center vs. the Philadelphia Flyers (3:00 p.m.).
Toronto 7, NY Rangers 2 Mats Sundin scored his 40th goal and Darcy Tucker and Cory Cross each added a pair as the Toronto Maple Leafs clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 7-2 rout of the New York Rangers. Sundin reached the 40-goal plateau for the third time in his career and needs one goal to match his Toronto high set two years ago. He notched a career-high 47 goals for the Quebec Nordiques in the 1992-93 campaign. The Maple Leafs clinched fourth place in the Eastern Conference and will host the extra game in a possible first-round playoff series. "We've been focused on that the last couple of weeks and Ottawa has been playing well and the Islanders have been playing really well behind us, so we want to make sure we can start the playoffs at home," Sundin said. "There are two games left until a new season, and stats and all that other stuff goes out the window in a hurry," Tucker added. Toronto also kept alive its slim hopes of winning the Northeast Division, pulling within three points of idle Boston with two games to play. With the Rangers trailing, 4-2, Theo Fleury appeared to be taken down by Cross on a breakaway, but no penalty was called. The Rangers collapsed after that as Sundin scored six minutes into the third before Mikael Renberg and Cross tacked on goals, chasing rookie goaltender Dan Blackburn. The Rangers thought Fleury should have been awarded a penalty shot. "I'm not sure if there should have been or could have been a call on that play," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said. "We've had five or six penalty shots against us this year and four of them should not have been called, so I don't even know if there should have been a penalty. We know (Fleury) goes down a lot, so he may have felt a tug and just fell to the ice." The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Rangers, who need to win Saturday's finale at Philadelphia to finish the season at .500. "I thought there were times during the season where we played real solid hockey," New York center Eric Lindros said. "It's real disappointing. We were treated really well by our fans and then our last game (at home), we fall apart like that in the third period." After Tucker got the first of his two goals 6:09 into the game, the Rangers tied it on Pavel Bure's power-play tally with 8:44 left in the opening period. It was his 12th goal in 11 games since being acquired from Florida before the March 19 trade deadline. But Cross and Tucker scored second-period goals that caromed off opposing players to give the Maple Leafs a 3-1 lead with 5:02 left. Lindros responded 79 seconds later, pulling the Rangers within 3-2, but Toronto broke it open with four unanswered goals in the third period. "The Rangers are out of the playoffs and we're preparing for the playoffs," Sundin said. "It's one of those games where it's nice to get it over with, and we have to move on." Cross recorded his first career two-goal game, while Tucker set a personal best with his 22nd goal. "It's nice to get goals," Tucker said. "I'm more excited about the year I had. My overall game improved from that of last year and that's what I'm most proud of." Shayne Corson started the barrage in the third just 73 seconds into the period before Sundin made it 5-2 at 6:25. Still just 18, Blackburn was trying to become the first teenager in NHL history to win six straight starts. He joined Tom Barrasso and Allan Bester as the only teens to win five in a row. "Danny battled hard tonight," New York coach Ron Low said. "I didn't want to see him in there anymore. You can't blame him for everything that happened tonight." Johan Holmqvist replaced Blackburn and stopped both shots he faced in his season debut. Corey Schwab made 21 saves for the Maple Leafs.
Post-Game Notes: NY Rangers versus Toronto Maple Leafs
 "Shirt off our backs" presentation prior to the game In their final home game of the 2001-02 season, the Rangers’ five-game winning streak came to an end as the Toronto Maple Leafs skated past the Blueshirts, 7-2. Leading 3-2 after two periods of play, the Leafs erupted for four unanswered goals in the third for their 41st win of the season, moving into sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference.
Game Preview: NY Rangers versus Philadelphia Flyers
TV: MSG Network (2:30 PM ET)
Philadelphia Flyers 2, NY Rangers 1 Mark Recchi couldn't have picked a better time to record his 500th point as a Philadelphia Flyer. Recchi's goal 2:02 into the third period gave the Flyers a two-goal lead as they hung on and edged the New York Rangers, 2-1, to clinch their second Atlantic Division title in three years. And it was a costly error by Rangers defenseman Tom Poti that led to the eventual game-winner. Poti coughed the puck up to Adam Oates in the left corner of his own zone, and Oates dished it to John LeClair in the left faceoff circle. LeClair found Recchi alone in the slot and after forcing goaltender Dan Blackburn to the ice with a deke, Recchi backhanded the puck into an open net for his 22nd goal of the season. Recchi, who also had an assist, has three goals in his last five games after scoring just once in the previous 23. "No one quits in this dressing room," Recchi said. "We always compete and work hard every night. We weren't doing a lot of the proper things, but it wasn't because we didn't want to do the right things, we were just trying too hard. Now we're letting each other help each other, we trust each other and we are continuing to get better. This is a step." Oates opened the scoring midway through the first period with a breakaway goal. After receiving a pass from Recchi in the neutral zone, Oates split between New York defensemen Poti and David Karpa and skated in alone on Blackburn. While being hooked from behind by Poti, Oates slid the puck under Blackburn for a 1-0 lead. The Rangers nearly tied the game early in the second. Mikael Samuelsson fired a slap shot from just outside the blue line that goalie Roman Cechmanek leaped to block, but it deflected off his left shoulder and bounced off the crossbar and into the stands. Philadelphia now has captured 14 division titles, including four since the Atlantic Division was formed. They still can capture the top seed in the Eastern Conference with Boston and Toronto losses Saturday night and a victory against the New York Islanders on Sunday. "This team is not done yet," Flyers center Jeremy Roenick said. "Just because we won this game, nobody is going to sit back. We have to continue to get better. We need to use this game as a building block. I know those are all the cliches, and we use them time and time again, but we do have to continue to get better as a team. We have to be ready to play playoff hockey, because playoff hockey is three or four steps faster." "Tonight was a big game for us, obviously," Philadelphia coach Bill Barber said. "The guys did a great job. We had tons of opportunities, a lot of scoring chances, so this was another step that we made in the right direction as a team." Petr Nedved scored a shorthanded goal for the Rangers, who have missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. With Philadelphia on their seventh power play of the game, Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch led a rush into the offensive zone. After firing a shot that Cechmanek blocked, Leetch prevented him from covering it by poking it away. Nedved grabbed the loose puck and deposited it into an open net for his 21st goal of the season. The assist by Leetch was the 700th of his career. Blackburn was sensational in a losing effort, making 34 saves in the final two periods and 43 overall. "Dan made some unbelievable saves," Rangers coach Ron Low said. "He was in full control of everything and did a great job. For someone who is not 19 yet, it was a pretty sound display of goaltending." "We got a good goaltender," New York center Eric Lindros said. "It could have been 6-0 after the first period and he held the fort down. He played all the way through down the stretch." New York managed just two shots on goal in the first period, a season low. They finished the season with a 36-38-4-4 mark. "I think the biggest thing is that the last half (of the season) was terrible," Low said. "We didn't defend very well and didn't score enough goals in games when we were down. A lot of times we did not put the puck in the net when we had scoring chances. The first half was pretty sound for our hockey club and the last half was not sound." The Flyers won the season series, three games to two, and extended their home winning streak against New York to five.
Post-Game Notes: NY Rangers versus Philadelphia Flyers
Dan Blackburn's 43 saves weren't enough to guide the Rangers to their first .500 season since 1996-97 as the Philadelphia Flyers escaped with a 2-1 win on Saturday at the First Union Center.
Rangers Rewind
The Rangers were just coming out of their second major slide of the second half of the season, a seven-of-eight losing skid that cemented their fifth straight season without making the playoffs. One of the players scanned the dressing room at Rye Playland not too long ago and sighed.
New York Rangers fire coach Ron Low NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Rangers' NHL-high payroll no longer includes coach Ron Low. The Rangers fired Low on Monday after two losing seasons and zero postseason appearances despite base salaries totaling about $70 million in 2001-02. The team went 36-38-4-3 this season and finished 11th in the Eastern Conference. It was the fifth straight year New York failed to make the playoffs. ``I don't think it's just the coach's responsibility in a situation like this. We all share equally in this,'' Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather said. ``But in every situation, someone ends up taking the blame and it's generally the coach. It's unfortunate, but it's the way it has to be.'' Sather would not say what, specifically, Low did wrong. ``I'm not going to get into anything negative,'' the GM said. ``Ron is a hard-working guy.'' Sather is holding a position in the organization for Low in case he's not hired by another team before next season. ``There's a job for him if he's looking for one,'' he said. The Rangers led the conference standings in early December and were atop the Atlantic Division as late as Jan. 5. But the team went 3-11-1 from Dec. 31-Feb. 6, sinking its season. The roster featured seven players who were at the Salt Lake City Olympics, including stars such as goaltender Mike Richter, defenseman Brian Leetch and forward Eric Lindros. Sather added high-scoring forward Pavel Bure at the trading deadline, but the Rangers still fell short of the playoffs despite his late flurry of goals. Low's record in New York was 69-81-9-4. He missed one game this season to attend the funeral of his brother, who died of cancer. In seven NHL seasons, including five with the Edmonton Oilers, Low is 208-243-49-4. ``We had to do something,'' Sather said. ``We wanted to go into next year with a fresh start and fresh ideas. That's what we're doing.'' Ken Hitchcock, who coached the Dallas Stars to the 1999 Stanley Cup title, is a candidate to replace Low, Sather said. The Stars fired Hitchcock in January and didn't qualify for the playoffs. ``I've spoken to Dallas and I've received permission'' to talk to Hitchcock, Sather said. Asked what he likes about Hitchcock, Sather said: ``Just his history.'' Rangers captain Mark Messier has said he's not interested in coaching the team. Low, a former NHL goaltender, was liked by his players but was sometimes perceived to be under pressure to cater to Sather's wishes. On Sunday, Sather strongly denied reports he gave advice during games to Low via a walkie-talkie. When the Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention, Low said he thought the Rangers had played hard for him. He blamed the team's problems on injuries to Lindros and Messier and poor special teams play.
Pavel was NHL's leading Russian born goal scorer for the season
--- INDIVIDUAL SCORING LEADERS ---
PLAYER TEAM GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW GT S PCTG
------------------------- ---- -- --- --- --- --- --- -- -- -- -- --- ----
Jarome Iginla CGY 82 52 44 96 27 75 16 1 7 2 311 16.7
Markus Naslund VAN 81 40 50 90 23 50 8 0 6 3 302 13.2
Todd Bertuzzi VAN 72 36 49 85 21 110 14 0 3 0 203 17.7
Mats Sundin TOR 82 41 39 80 7 94 10 2 9 2 263 15.6
Jaromir Jagr WAS 69 31 48 79 1- 30 10 0 3 0 197 15.7
Joe Sakic COL 82 26 53 79 13 18 9 1 4 1 260 10.0
Pavol Demitra STL 82 35 43 78 14 46 11 0 10 1 212 16.5
Adam Oates PHI 80 14 64 78 4- 26 3 0 1 0 102 13.7
Mike Modano DAL 78 34 43 77 15 38 6 2 5 0 219 15.5
Ron Francis CAR 80 27 50 77 4 18 14 0 5 2 165 16.4
Keith Tkachuk STL 73 38 37 75 21 117 13 0 7 1 244 15.6
Alexei Yashin NYI 79 32 43 75 3- 25 15 0 5 0 239 13.4
Alexei Kovalev PIT 67 32 43 75 3 76 8 1 3 2 266 12.0
Brendan Shanahan DET 80 37 37 74 23 106 12 3 7 4 277 13.4
Miroslav Satan BUF 82 37 36 73 15 33 15 5 5 0 267 13.9
Craig Conroy CGY 81 27 46 73 24 32 7 2 4 1 146 18.5
Jason Allison LOS 73 19 54 73 1 68 5 0 2 2 139 13.7
Eric Lindros NYR 72 37 35 72 19 134 12 1 4 0 196 18.9
Glen Murray BOS 82 41 30 71 31 40 9 0 9 1 246 16.7
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 78 37 34 71 3 45 9 1 4 2 243 15.2
Peter Bondra WAS 77 39 31 70 2- 80 17 1 8 1 333 11.7
Eric Daze CHI 82 38 32 70 17 32 12 0 5 2 264 14.4
Sergei Samsonov BOS 74 29 41 70 21 25 3 0 4 0 192 15.1
Pavel Bure NYR 68 34 35 69 5- 62 12 1 2 1 287 11.8
Sami Kapanen CAR 77 27 42 69 9 23 11 0 4 1 248 10.9
Radek Bonk OTT 82 25 44 69 3 52 6 2 5 0 170 14.7
Andrew Brunette MIN 81 21 48 69 6- 18 10 0 3 1 106 19.8
--- INDIVIDUAL LEADERS ---
-- GOAL SCORING -- -- ASSISTS --
NAME TEAM GP G NAME TEAM GP A
------------------------- ---- -- --- ------------------------- ---- -- ---
Jarome Iginla CGY 82 52 Adam Oates PHI 80 64
Bill Guerin BOS 78 41 Jason Allison LOS 73 54
Glen Murray BOS 82 41 Joe Sakic COL 82 53
Mats Sundin TOR 82 41 Nicklas Lidstrom DET 78 51
Markus Naslund VAN 81 40 Ron Francis CAR 80 50
Peter Bondra WAS 77 39 Markus Naslund VAN 81 50
Keith Tkachuk STL 73 38 Todd Bertuzzi VAN 72 49
Eric Daze CHI 82 38 Jozef Stumpel BOS 81 49
Eric Lindros NYR 72 37 Jaromir Jagr WAS 69 48
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 78 37 Andrew Brunette MIN 81 48
Brendan Shanahan DET 80 37 Joe Thornton BOS 66 46
Miroslav Satan BUF 82 37 Jeremy Roenick PHI 75 46
Todd Bertuzzi VAN 72 36 Craig Conroy CGY 81 46
Pavol Demitra STL 82 35 Michael Nylander CHI 82 46
Pavel Bure NYR 68 34 Alexei Zhamnov CHI 77 45
Mike Modano DAL 78 34 Brian Leetch NYR 82 45
-- POWER PLAY GOALS -- -- SHORT HANDED GOALS --
NAME TEAM GP PP NAME TEAM GP SH
------------------------- ---- -- --- ------------------------- ---- -- ---
Peter Bondra WAS 77 17 Brian Rolston BOS 82 9
Jarome Iginla CGY 82 16 Michael Peca NYI 80 6
Zigmund Palffy LOS 63 15 Miroslav Satan BUF 82 5
Alexei Yashin NYI 79 15 Stacy Roest MIN 58 4
Miroslav Satan BUF 82 15 Shawn Bates NYI 71 4
Todd Bertuzzi VAN 72 14 Mike Fisher OTT 58 3
Ron Francis CAR 80 14 Radek Dvorak NYR 65 3
Keith Tkachuk STL 73 13 Vitali Yachmenev NAS 75 3
Luc Robitaille DET 81 13 Marco Sturm SAN 77 3
Pavel Bure NYR 68 12 Andreas Dackell MON 79 3
Eric Lindros NYR 72 12 Dallas Drake STL 80 3
Adam Deadmarsh LOS 76 12 Daymond Langkow PHO 80 3
Daniel Briere PHO 78 12 Claude Lapointe NYI 80 3
Brendan Shanahan DET 80 12 Brendan Shanahan DET 80 3
Anson Carter EDM 82 12 Adam Graves SAN 81 3
Eric Daze CHI 82 12 Todd Marchant EDM 82 3
-- GAME WINNING GOALS -- -- OVERTIME GOALS --
NAME TEAM GP GW NAME TEAM GP GOT
------------------------- ---- -- --- ------------------------- ---- -- ---
Pavol Demitra STL 82 10 Scott Niedermayer NJD 76 4
Glen Murray BOS 82 9 Zigmund Palffy LOS 63 2
Mats Sundin TOR 82 9 Joe Thornton BOS 66 2
Peter Bondra WAS 77 8 Stu Barnes BUF 68 2
Steve Sullivan CHI 78 8 Keith Tkachuk STL 73 2
Paul Kariya ANA 82 8 Vincent Lecavalier TAM 76 2
Teemu Selanne SAN 82 8 Peter Bondra WAS 77 2
Keith Tkachuk STL 73 7 Bill Guerin BOS 78 2
Patrik Elias NJD 75 7 Jan Hrdina PIT 79 2
Bill Guerin BOS 78 7 Michael Peca NYI 80 2
Simon Gagne PHI 79 7 Brendan Shanahan DET 80 2
Brendan Shanahan DET 80 7 Denis Arkhipov NAS 82 2
Jarome Iginla CGY 82 7 Eric Daze CHI 82 2
Yanic Perreault MON 82 7 Pavol Demitra STL 82 2
Brian Rolston BOS 82 7 Theoren Fleury NYR 82 2
Dany Heatley ATL 82 2
Brett Hull DET 82 2
Brian Leetch NYR 82 2
Glen Murray BOS 82 2
Mats Sundin TOR 82 2
-- SHOTS -- -- FIRST GOALS --
NAME TEAM GP S NAME TEAM GP FG
------------------------- ---- -- --- ------------------------- ---- -- ---
Bill Guerin BOS 78 355 Alexei Yashin NYI 79 12
Peter Bondra WAS 77 333 Keith Tkachuk STL 73 11
Brian Rolston BOS 82 331 Zigmund Palffy LOS 63 10
Jarome Iginla CGY 82 311 Daniel Briere PHO 78 10
Markus Naslund VAN 81 302 Craig Conroy CGY 81 9
Paul Kariya ANA 82 289 Jarome Iginla CGY 82 9
Pavel Bure NYR 68 287 Iliya Kovalchuk ATL 65 8
Marian Hossa OTT 81 278 Martin Havlat OTT 72 8
Brendan Shanahan DET 80 277 Mike Modano DAL 78 8
Jeff O'Neill CAR 76 272 Kristian Huselius FLA 79 8
Sergei Fedorov DET 81 8
Eric Daze CHI 82 8
-- SHOOTING PERCENTAGE (MIN 82 SHOTS) --
NAME TEAM GP G S PCTG
------------------------- ---- -- --- --- ----
Daniel Briere PHO 78 32 149 21.5
Adam Deadmarsh LOS 76 29 139 20.9
Jan Hrdina PIT 79 24 115 20.9
Zigmund Palffy LOS 63 32 161 19.9
Andrew Brunette MIN 81 21 106 19.8
Mike Comrie EDM 82 33 170 19.4
Darcy Tucker TOR 77 24 124 19.4
Eric Lindros NYR 72 37 196 18.9
Mark Parrish NYI 78 30 162 18.5
Craig Conroy CGY 81 27 146 18.5
Scott Thornton SAN 77 26 144 18.1
Andreas Dackell MON 79 15 83 18.1
Tony Hrkac ATL 80 18 101 17.8
Todd Bertuzzi VAN 72 36 203 17.7
Gary Roberts TOR 69 21 120 17.5
Patrick Marleau SAN 79 21 121 17.4
Yanic Perreault MON 82 27 156 17.3
Steven Reinprecht COL 67 19 111 17.1
Denis Arkhipov NAS 82 20 118 16.9
Jarome Iginla CGY 82 52 311 16.7
Glen Murray BOS 82 41 246 16.7
Brenden Morrow DAL 72 17 102 16.7
Simon Gagne PHI 79 33 199 16.6
Pavol Demitra STL 82 35 212 16.5
Mike Ricci SAN 79 19 115 16.5
-- PLUS/MINUS --
NAME TEAM GP +/-
------------------------- ---- -- ---
Chris Chelios DET 79 39
Jeremy Roenick PHI 75 32
Glen Murray BOS 82 31
Simon Gagne PHI 79 31
Zdeno Chara OTT 75 30
Kris Draper DET 82 27
Jarome Iginla CGY 82 27
Michael Nylander CHI 82 27
Sean O'Donnell BOS 80 27
Eric Weinrich PHI 80 27
Magnus Arvedson OTT 74 27
Linden's back where he belongs From the dreadful Vancouver Canucks to the dismal New York Islanders to the disappointing Montreal Canadiens, Trevor Linden reeled from one bad scene to another, wondering whether he would ever again skate in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Four seasons went by without a sniff and a fifth seemed likely. Then last spring, Linden was surprisingly dispatched by Montreal to the Washington Capitals as a possible Caps' missing piece. Alas, his stay in the U.S. capital was brief and unproductive. The Canucks brought him home Nov. 10 for a first-round pick. "Obviously this means a lot to me," Linden said Monday as the Canucks continued preparations for Wednesday's playoff opener against the Detroit Red Wings. "Getting kind of airlifted into Washington last year didn't have the same feel as this, with what we've been through the last three or four months. "So this has been pretty special for me. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be fun to be in the playoffs with Vancouver again." Lest anyone forget their Canuck history, Linden left Vancouver as the greatest playoff performer in team annals -- with 80 points in 79 games. He was still No. 1 upon his return. He is also No. 1 in post-season games played and post-season assists (50). He has 30 playoff goals and needs five more to claim that title from Pavel Bure.
Pavel thanks the New York Rangers fans video The New York Rangers have made a video of Pavel thanking the fans for supporting his new team. You will need Real Video installed on your computer to see this video. 
Visit Rangers dressing room There is an All Access Tour now through April 30. Madison Square Garden's All Access Tour allows fans to get an insider's view of the inner-workings of the World's Most Famous Arena, providing them with little-known information and rarely seen viewpoints on the legendary showplace. Visitors taking part in the "All Access" one hour tour become a part of one of the busiest and most exciting sports and entertainment facilities in the world and are treated to a host of unique experiences. Visit the Knicks, Rangers and Liberty locker rooms; tour backstage of the Theater at Madison Square Garden; go inside the Star dressing rooms; learn how a basketball court becomes a sheet of ice; meet one of the famed Knicks City Dancers; see the MSG Network studio; witness all the seldom seen build-up to a live event - players practicing, performers in production, casts in rehearsal or crews staging events! You'll never know what you'll see on the All Access Tour. Tours run on the hour from Monday through Saturday 10AM - 3PM. Tickets are priced at $15.00 for adults and $12.00 for children and can be purchased directly at the MSG box office. Group and student rates are available. Madison Square Garden is centrally located in New York City at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue and can be reached by car, train, bus or foot. One may also book ahead by Ticketmaster.
Ïàâåë Áóðå è äî÷ü Èãîðÿ Íèêîëàåâà: Ëþáîâü íå÷àÿííî íàãðÿíåò?
 Óâèäåâ ñâîþ ñòàðóþ-íîâóþ çíàêîìóþ Þëþ, Ïàâåë Áóðå òàê âåñü âå÷åð è íå îòïóñêàë åå îò ñåáÿ
Âîîáùå-òî Ïàâåë Áóðå è Þëèÿ Íèêîëàåâà áûëè çíàêîìû äàâíî. Êîãäà-òî óæå èçâåñòíûé ñïîðòñìåí Ïàøà äàæå íÿí÷èë äî÷êó ñâîåãî äàâíåãî ïðèÿòåëÿ, ïåâöà è êîìïîçèòîðà Èãîðÿ Íèêîëàåâà. Âåäü â Ìàéàìè, ãäå ïîñòîÿííî æèâåò Ïàøà, Èãîðü Íèêîëàåâ ÷èñëèòñÿ â åãî ñîñåäÿõ. Ïîýòîìó îíè âñòðå÷àþòñÿ òàì äîâîëüíî ÷àñòî. Îäíàêî ê äî÷êå Èãîðÿ Áóðå âñåãäà îòíîñèëñÿ, êàê ê ìàëåíüêîé è ìèëîé äåâ÷óøêå. È âäðóã òàêîå îòêðûòèå!
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