News from December 1999
Scroll down, or choose the headline to read the news:Pavel still in third place int NHL vote-- NHL.comThursday, December 30, 1999 NEW YORK (Dec. 30, 1999) - Right wing Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who continues to lead all World All-Stars in NHL All-Star Vote 2000 with 903,745 votes, is on the verge of becoming the first player to top one million votes since the All-Star Fan Balloting program began in 1985-86. Jagr’s total is already a single-season voting record, easily eclipsing the former high of 620,788 set by Detroit’s Paul Coffey in 1995-96. (as of 12/27/99) Wings
Player (country)...........NHL Club........Votes
Dominik Hasek (CZE)........Buffalo........464,936 Centers
Mats Sundin (SWE)..........Toronto........476,448 Defensemen
Nicklas Lidstrom (SWE).....Detroit........817,566 Legend
CZE – Czech Republic No points, a loss, and streak finished!-- ReutersThursday, December 30, 1999 Alexei Zhamnov scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period and Jocelyn Thibault made it stand up with 29 saves as the Chicago Blackhawks edged the Florida Panthers, 2-1. Chicago ended Pavel Bure's 11-game points streak as Florida fell to 5-10 when its leading scorer does not collect a point. He had 12 goals and nine assists during the streak. "Sooner or later, it would end, so it's normal," Bure said. "You just have to appreciate what you had." Pavel had five shots on goal, and was a minus one on the plus minus cale for the night. "We played really badly in the second period and it cost us the game," right wing Pavel Bure said. "We worked hard in the third, but it was too late. You can't play like this in an NHL game. You have to play all 60 minutes hard. That's what we have to learn."
Clcik here to hear Pavel's second interview clip. Has Kournikova Dumped Federov for Bure??-- ReutersThursday, December 30, 1999
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian tennis sweetheart Anna Kournikova has left one ice hockey player for another, local sports newspapers said. They said Kournikova had dropped Sergei Fedorov for his former teammate Pavel Bure. However, her agent warned against reading too much into the fact that she had been seen with Bure a lot recently. Daily Soviet Sport said that Kournikova, 18, had recently begun dating high-scoring winger Bure, who plays for Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League. Sport Express also published a full-page story with a photo of Bure watching Kournikova's tennis practice. The report said Bure, 28, had bought a condominium in the same apartment building as Kournikova in an upmarket Miami suburb. It said the two had been seeing each other frequently. But Alexei Selivanenko, Kournikova's Moscow-based agent, said the media should not jump to conclusions. ``Well, it does not necessarily mean they have a relationship,'' he said. ``Anna is a very friendly person and I know that she has many friends among other athletes. ``And of course if two people of the same nationality happen to live next door to each other in a foreign country they are bound to see each other more often. ``Anna likes hockey very much and, if time permits, she goes to Panthers' home games quite frequently.'' Kournikova, who has lived in the United States since her childhood, was known to be close to Fedorov, a star center with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. Fedorov, 29, has watched many grand slam tournaments in the last few years from Kournikova's guest box. The Russian press reported that the two were engaged after Kournikova wore a large diamond ring at this year's Wimbledon. A couple of helpers in winMonday, December 27, 1999Pavel Bure set up the first goal of the game, as well as another helper, in helping the Panthers with a 6-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Pavel had three shots on goal and was a plus one on the plus minus scale. His assist has him on the scoring list for eleven consecutive games, a Florida Panthers team record. Pavel did take a hooking penalty in the game, his second one of the season. On ice, no question Pavel Bure's going steadyby Mike Heika -- The Dallas Morning NewsSunday, December 26, 1999 So what do you want to know about Pavel Bure? A. What kind of moves did the Florida Panthers winger use to tally 21 goals in his first 24 games this season? Or: B. What kind of moves did he use to get into the same Florida condo building with tennis star Anna Kournikova? Uh, huh, just what I thought. Well, that's what makes Bure a superstar. He creates headlines no matter what he's doing. Bure last week was named NHL Player of the Week for an inspired performance of stringing together three consecutive games in which he netted the game-winning goal. He also was swished into the middle of one of the most intriguing love triangles in sports when it was reported by the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel that Bure has been seen hanging out with Kournikova in New York and that he lives just three floors away from her in a swank Miami condo. The controversial 18-year-old Kournikova, of course, has been the companion of Detroit Red Wings center Sergei Fedorov for the past three years. Fedorov and Bure are old friends who played together on the same hockey teams while growing up in Russia. Juicy stuff, right? Just so you know that the intrepid hockey media is chasing important stories, reporters jumped on Bure two questions into an NHL teleconference last week with queries about Kournikova. "I can talk about hockey," Bure said, "but my private life is mine." All right, then, let's talk about hockey. Pavel Bure is dynamic, intriguing, deceptive and downright sexy. And that's just on the ice. The 28-year-old winger appears to be over last season's contract dispute with the Vancouver Canucks that forced his trade to the Panthers and over season-ending knee surgery that limited him to just 11 games last season with Florida. Now, Bure is healthy and playing. And, as always, Bure is scoring. And, not coincidentally, when Bure is playing and scoring, the Panthers are winning - 13-0-1, in fact, this season when Bure scores a goal. "When Pavel scores, he just seems to keep going, and that's a lift for everyone," Panthers center Rob Niedermayer said. "I think it affects other teams, too. When he starts going, other teams [say], 'Oh no, here we go.' " So far, the Panthers have gone to the top of the Southeast Division standings. The joke of the league last season with one team barely making the playoffs, the Southeast now at least has a proud leader in the Panthers, who sport a 19-11-3-2 record. Bure said the reason for the turnaround from a 30-34-18 record is that the team is more balanced. He said strong goaltending and chemistry of veterans such as Scott Mellanby and youngsters such as Oleg Kvasha are the real reasons for the Panthers' success. But his teammates know better. "Everybody tries to keep up with him and play better," said linemate Viktor Kozlov. "He's on a roll right now, so that's good for me, too." In fact, Bure finally passed his brother, Valeri Bure of the Calgary Flames, in the scoring race last week. Pavel said having his younger sibling ahead of him was a fun sort of motivation. Now, however, it's time for business from the player who already has had two 60-goal seasons in his career. "Things are going well for us, but we shouldn't be satisfied," Bure said. "The [player of the week award] is part of history right now. We have to continue to play well." And if that means concentrating on the game while Anna Kournikova is sitting in the stands, well then, that's what Pavel Bure is going to have to do. Geez, the problems some guys have.
An assist in a tie and then a lossSunday, December 26, 1999Pavel Bure set up the tying goal in regulation time, only to see his team lose in overtime 4-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes. Ray Whitney tied the score during a four-on-four in which Carolina defenseman Marek Malik stepped up on Svehla at the Carolina line. That left Pavel Bure on a two-on-one with Whitney. Bure pass, Whitney one-timer and the score was tied. Pavel had four shots on goal and was even on the plus minus scale. His assist has him on the scoring list for ten consecutive games, a Florida Panthers team record. No. 1 line becoming top-notchby Cesar Brioso -- Sun-SentinelSunday, December 26, 1999 CORAL SPRINGS - Unable to mesh in their earlier stint together, Pavel Bure, Viktor Kozlov and Scott Mellanby have been playing the way a top line should in their second go-around. Kozlov has become the No. 1 center the Panthers lacked at the start of the season, Mellanby has grown accustomed to playing on the left wing and Bure has been, well, Bure. "I think as players and as lines, you go in stretches where things thing go your way and your confidence level rises a little bit," Mellanby said. "You get on a roll. role. It's a cliche, but that's what happens." Since Mellanby rejoined the top line in the third period against Phoenix eight games ago, Bure has 11 goals and 18 points and is at plus-11. In that span, Kozlov has three goals, eight assists and is at plus-11, and while Mellanby has three goals, seven assists and is at plus-10. The trio was on the first line to start the season until Mellanby was knocked out against Montreal on Oct. 12, but it wasn't they weren't at all effective as a unit. That has That's changed in recent games, and coach Terry Murray said the biggest difference has been the improved play of Kozlov, who has done a better job of finding Bure and Mellanby the past month and a half. Kozlov has started seeing the ice better and moving the puck earlier as he's coming through the neutral zone. "We kept looking for somebody to get to play with Pavel, to move the puck on a regular basis," Murray x said. "We tried everybody there. We even had (Ray) Whitney at center for a while with Pavel on the right side. But I think, right now, I'm settling in with Kozie. I like how he's started to become a better player. I think Pavel forces him to become a better player." And Mellanby, after adjusting to the switch from right to left wing, has gotten back to his gritty style along the boards, while creating goals with his forecheck and by using his size. At the start of the season, Mellanby wasn't comfortable on the left side. "As you go along in your career, you gain a knowledge for playing (the right) side of the ice and carrying that puck down that side of the ice," Mellanby said. "Whatever you do, you learn to do it from that side of the ice. From the other side, it's a very foreign feeling." Mellanby still prefers the right side, but his confidence about playing left wing has improved. "At the start of the year, I think I was trying a little too hard," Mellanby said. "I wanted a little bit too badly to do a good job at left wing and with that line. I think my confidence level dropped quickly as I went along because it was a new position and I was trying a little to hard. I went back to right wing. I think I got a lot of confidence back. I think that has helped me step in this time and play a little bit more relaxed and let things happen instead of trying to make them happen." Meanwhile, Bure has been on a hot streak, registering a team-record, nine-game point streak. Over his past 12 games, Bure has 14 goals, 23 points and is at plus-16. Bure says he has no explanation for as to why the puck has been going into the net so frequently for him in recent games. "Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't," Bure said. "Why? You don't know why. I guess that's just the way it is. Nobody knows why. Sometimes you can have 10 shots a game and the puck just won't go in and sometimes you can have three shots and score three goals."
Not just a statisticA breakdown of Bure's goals shows his impact on the Panthers is greater than mere numbersBy David J. Neal-- Miami HeraldSaturday, December 25, 1999 Pavel Bure hasn't scored a goal this year when the Panthers were behind. That isn't necessarily a criticism, nor an indication that when things are bad for the Panthers, Bure is hard to find (he has assisted on five game-tying goals). But it's the most surprising aspect of a breakdown of Bure's 21 goals this season. Bure is on pace to end the season with 62 goals, which would be a Gretzky-esque obliteration of the Panthers' franchise record of 32 shared by Scott Mellanby (1995-96) and Ray Whitney (1997-98). But simple math is silent when attempting to discern when Bure is likely to score or the importance of his goals. The media is fond of quoting the most obvious statistic, that the Panthers are 13-1-1 when Bure scores. That looks nice, says a little something, but doesn't say nearly as much as it first seems. Bure, a better discusser of others than of himself, sheds little light on patterns or streaks in scoring. ``That's a question I've been asking myself for 20 years,'' he said. ``Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't. Nobody knows why. Sometimes you can have 10 shots a game and the puck just wouldn't go in. Sometimes, you have three shots and get three goals. It seems like you try to do the same thing all the time.'' So, let's take a break from carving turkey to do a little dissection. Nine of Bure's 21 goals have put the Panthers ahead in a game. The only other Panther with more than four such goals is right wing Radek Dvorak, with five. Right wing Mark Parrish and center Rob Niedermayer led the team last year with seven each. But the main reason the Panthers have a great record when Bure scores is he's often striking relatively early. Like most NHL teams, the Panthers have a great record when they score first, 13-3-2. Bure didn't play in four of those 18 games; of the other 14, he started the scoring six times. And his tendency to score the first goal is more pronounced in games following a Florida regulation loss. There have been nine of those, and the Panthers have scored first the following game seven times. Three of those have come from the black stick of Bure. Of Bure's other 12 goals, nine have come when the Panthers are ahead and the game is still in doubt, and three have come during garbage time (not to be confused with empty-net goals -- see below). Bure has been in the lineup for 10 Florida goals that have tied a game, and has assisted on five. Of Whitney's team-high six goals that have tied a game, Bure has assisted on three. He wasn't in the lineup for one of those. It leads one to believe that when the Panthers get down, opposing defensive schemes focus all the more on No. 10 and open things up for his teammates. ``They go right after him,'' Whitney said. ``Whenever we're coming from behind, they'll get a defense pairing out there whose whole job is strictly, when he's on the ice, to watch him. If it comes into their zone, they'll just fire it off the glass and get it out. If it's icing, they'll take 20 of them. That's what most teams do with superstars.'' Panthers coach Terry Murray notices another characteristic when the Panthers are down. ``I think one of the things that happens to us when we get behind is we become an individual group of guys, not a team,'' Murray said. ``Now, we think, `I can do it; I'll take it as far as I can and try to turn this thing around.' I hope we're finding out that that's not the way any one us can be successful. ``Pavel's game is feeding off the flow, off good puck movement and just being an explosive guy who finds the seams at the right time,'' Murray continued. ``From behind, we don't seem to look for that same kind of team play.'' When a player sneers, ``Empty net goals are for sissies,'' you can bet your kid's Pokemon collection it's not a successful goal-scorer talking. The big guns love empty netters. They put away the game while padding personal statistics. Wayne Gretzky recalls being called ``the greatest empty-net goal scorer in history'' by Hockey Night in Canada color man and former NHL coach Harry Neale. Bure has four of the Panthers' five empty-netters this year. Against Buffalo Dec. 17 and Los Angeles Oct. 6, the threat of a tie was still strong before Bure scored.
Bure, Kournikova not much of a storySo what's the big fuss people are trying to make over this alleged love triangle between NHL starsby Keith Gave-- SportsLine Senior WriterThursday, December 23, 1999 So what's the big fuss people are trying to make over this alleged love triangle between NHL stars Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure and tennis princess Anna Kournikova? Fedorov, the former NHL MVP with the Detroit Red Wings, and Kournikova have been linked for years, but she was seen recently with Bure at a concert in Toronto. Bure, the star winger for the Florida Panthers, and Kournikova also are neighbors in a Miami condo complex. Nobody's saying much publicly about it, though we can't imagine Fedorov is terribly upset. After all, he routinely has described his relationship with Kournikova as "just a friend of the family.'' Fedorov and Bure are longtime friends who were linemates as teen-agers on the famed Central Red Army club of the former Soviet Union. For the record, Wings officials were privately aghast when they first heard gossip from the locker room about the relationship. A team source confirmed to SportsLine that they did some checking into the matter and found out she was only 14 years, 8 months old at the time.
Bure dating Kournikova-- CBS SportsLine wire reportsThursday, December 23, 1999 The story swept across the NHL with the frenzy of a Mario Lemieux breakaway, causing a stir in every locker room and a flurry of phone calls seeking confirmation and information. What was the rumor that had the league all atwitter in the days before Christmas? The Rangers trading Petr Nedved? The Panthers signing Keith Primeau? The Islanders going belly up? No, it was the report that tennis star Anna Kournikova, whose poster is displayed prominently on the walls of countless teen males, has ditched Detroit Red Wings star for his former linemate, Pavel Bure of Florida. Kournikova and Bure were seen together recently at a concert in Toronto, and Bure apparently has purchased a Miami condominium in the same complex occupied by Kournikova -- one reportedly sold to her at a bargain price by Fedorov. During a conference call with reporters, Bure barely had enough time for hockey talk amid all the questions about his relationship with Kournikova, who, like the two NHL stars, is Russian. "I guess it comes with the territory," said Bure, who recently had five goals in two games. "I understand people like hockey a lot and they want to know things. ... I can talk about hockey, but my private life is mine."
Fools Russian to loveAnna transfers from Siberian Express to Russian Rocket-- CNNThursday, December 23, 1999 The story swept across the NHL with the frenzy of a Mario Lemieux breakaway, causing a stir in every locker room and a flurry of phone calls seeking confirmation and information. What was the rumor that had the league all atwitter in the days before Christmas? The Rangers trading Petr Nedved? The Panthers signing Keith Primeau? The Islanders going belly up? No, it was the report that tennis star Anna Kournikova, whose poster is displayed prominently on the walls of countless teen males, has ditched Detroit Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov for his former linemate, Pavel Bure of Florida. Kournikova and Bure were seen together recently at a concert in Toronto,and Bure apparently has purchased a Miami condominium in the same complex occupied by Kournikova - one reportedly sold to her at a bargain price by Fedorov. During a conference call with reporters, Bure barely had enough time for hockey talk amid all the questions about his relationship with Kournikova, who, like the two NHL stars, is Russian. 'I guess it comes with the territory,' said Bure, who recently had five goals in two games. 'I understand people like hockey a lot and they want to know things. ... I can talk about hockey, but my private life is mine.' Bure heals quickly for Panthersby Mike Brehm -- USA TODAYWednesday, December 22, 1999
Florida Panthers winger Pavel Bure can beat you with speed. He can weave through the ice with the best of them. He can score incredible goals from impossible angles. Pavel sets another Panthers recordWednesday, December 22, 1999Florida Panthers tied the Atlanta Thrashers 3-3 in tonight's game. Pavel Bure added an assist on Svehla's goal, setting a club record with points in nine straight games. His career high is a 13-game point streak in January 1993, has 12 goals and 19 points over the span. Pavel had four shots on goal, and was a plus one for the night. Pavel is a distant third in All-Star ballotingTuesday, December 21, 1999NEW YORK (Dec. 21, 1999) - Right wing Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who leads all players for the World All-Stars in NHL All-Star Vote 2000 with 610,850 votes, is on the verge of becoming the leading single-season votegetter since the All-Star Fan Balloting program began in 1985-86. With 13 days remaining in fan balloting, Jagr is just shy of Paul Coffey’s record total of 620,788 set with Detroit in 1995-96.
From Russia with love?by Dirk Soeterik -- SLAM! SportsDecember 21, 1999
One of hockey's brightest stars is keeping tight-lipped about his involvement in what some are referring to as a Russian love triangle. Bure scoring, but not drawing fans to arenaPanthers near top of Eastern Conference as star sniper on a rollby David Shoalts-- The Globe and MailDecember 21, 1999 Great expectations have followed Pavel Bure from his days as a six-year-old prodigy in the dying days of the former Soviet Union's hockey machine to the National Hockey League. Actually, great demands is probably a more accurate term. Wherever he's played, given his obvious hockey gifts of speed and skilled hands, goals have been demanded of Bure. That was the case as a child in Moscow and it's no different almost one year after the 28-year-old Bure was taken from the Vancouver Canucks in a trade designed to sell tickets for the Florida Panthers. While the tickets have not been moving especially well -- 4,000 empty seats at the National Car Rental Center are the norm, and there were nearly 3,300 last night -- Bure is keeping his part of the bargain after an uncertain start. As he's freed himself from the various injuries that have dogged him since his trade last January, Bure's scoring has exploded. Including his marker in last night's 6-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bure has scored 21 goals in 24 games this season. In the two games previous to meeting the Leafs, Bure had five goals in road wins over the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Panthers, who quietly climbed near the top of the Eastern Conference ladder thanks to Bure, are 13-1-1 in games when he scores a goal. But a hot hand is not why Bure says he doesn't feel any pressure -- even though he's expected to do for hockey on the East Coast of the United States what Wayne Gretzky did for the West Coast 10 years ago. "No, I wouldn't say I don't have any pressure," Bure said, then quickly corrected himself. "Well, maybe I do but I know how to deal with it because I have lived with the pressure for a long, long time. So eventually you get used to it and know how to deal with it. "You just have to keep yourself on the same level no matter how things go. Pressure has been with me everywhere, since I was six years old. It was just, score goals all the time. If I didn't score, it wasn't that people were blaming me, but when I was younger, as junior, they felt I should be the best forward all the time because I scored goals." The early exposure to such demands also helped Bure deal with another phenomenon common to gifted young people. Like Gretzky, Bure often heard other hockey parents complain about his success, that it was the result of favouritism of one kind or another. In Bure's case, people said he was given all the opportunities because his father, Vladimir, was a champion swimmer. "I remember when I was a kid, people said I'm playing well because my father was a famous swimmer, that's why I was scoring goals and why I was playing [all the time]," Bure said, shaking his head at the memory. "Well, jealousy is a big part of our lives, not just in hockey but everywhere. You have to learn how to deal with it. It's just human nature." For perhaps the first time in his NHL career, Bure is enjoying his success. Twice a 60-goal scorer and once a 50-goal scorer with the Canucks, he never seemed to enjoy his days in Vancouver. He demanded the trade as the result of a contract squabble that had its roots in the days when Maple Leafs head coach and general manager Pat Quinn was running the Canucks. Bure also said he wanted out of Vancouver because players had no privacy in hockey-mad Canadian cities. Quinn said yesterday that Bure had demanded a trade even earlier, in his second year with the team, in 1992. Quinn refused the request, and Bure went on to his first 60-goal season. "What are you going to do, just because a guy walks in the door, trade him?" Quinn said. "[We] just made a statement, that you belong to this organization and you'll play here. He went on, put it behind him and played very well." The relationship between Bure and Quinn was thought to have foundered amid the trade demands, but each man is complimentary toward the other. "He's one of the best coaches ever to coach me," Bure said. "I knew something [good] would happen to Toronto when he got hired." Quinn draws a parallel to Gretzky when he discusses Bure. Like the recently retired great, Bure combines a prodigious talent with a desire for excellence. "He's a guy whose personal motivation and preparation are as good as anybody I've ever seen," Quinn said. Bure also has Gretzky's ability to make those around him better, as shown by the Panthers' climb this season. For Panthers head coach Terry Murray, it's a long-awaited benefit, as Bure was lost for the balance of last season to a serious knee injury not long after he came to the Panthers. And he's missed eight games this season with groin and finger injuries. "Pavel's explosive," Murray said. "He can change a game around in one shift. That carries over to the locker room. "When you lose a star player, a lot of times you have a team really rally and play hard together and say, 'We can get through this.' But over the long haul, it's going to start to have an effect on you. "We're starting to see more of the real Pavel in late December. I just think there'll be more of an upside to him as we move to the second half of the season." Bure is also starting to attract some of the off-ice attention he disliked so much in Vancouver. This time, it has nothing to do with his friendship with shadowy Russian businessmen but with a suspicion he's moved in on an old linemate's girlfriend. Bure was spotted last week at a concert in Toronto with tennis star Anna Kournikova, who was thought to be involved with Detroit Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov. An item in a South Florida newspaper's gossip column noted that Bure and Kournikova have both bought condominiums in the same building in Miami Beach. The pouty teenage tennis star supposedly bought hers for a song from a now unhappy Fedorov, who played with Bure on the Soviet national team. "Oh no," Bure said when an enquiring mind broached the subject. "I don't discuss my private life. I can stay here and discuss hockey but not my private life." Bure and Anna Kournikova?-- Canadian PressTuesday, December 21, 1999
 
Pavel Bure is the hottest player in the NHL right now with 21 goals and 12 assists in just 24 games. But the second question posed during Tuesday's conference call had nothing to do with his dazzling puck-handling skills. "I'm just wondering if you might be able to comment on what is being called the love triangle between you, (Sergei) Fedorov and Anna Kournikova?" asked a reporter. "Sorry?" Bure replied. "I was just wondering if you could comment on all the speculation out there on what's going on between you, Sergei Fedorov and Anna Kournikova?" the reporter persisted. "I can talk about hockey, but my private life is mine," Bure responded tersely. Such is life these days for the Florida Panthers superstar, subject of a number of newspaper stories linking him romantically with Kournikova, the Russian tennis player who had previously been paired with the Detroit Red Wings' Fedorov. One headline in the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Sun-Sentinel this week read: Neighbours Pavel, Anna Leave Third Russian Red with Anger. The story went on to say Bure and Kournikova live in the same Miami condo building. Kournikova, who attracts as much attention with her good looks as her tennis skills, was spotted at the Panthers-Maple Leafs game Monday night in Sunrise, Fla. When asked if he was tired of answering questions about his personal life, Bure didn't bite. "I guess it comes with the territory," he said. "I understand people like hockey a lot and they want to know things. "I try to do the best that I can to let people know how I play." On the hockey front, Bure has rediscovered the form that saw him post back-to-back 60-goal seasons in 1992-93 and '93-94 with the Vancouver Canucks. "I'm really happy right now," he said. "Things are going very well." The 28-year-old Moscow native has scored 34 goals in 35 games with the Panthers since being acquired Jan. 17 from the Canucks. After signing a contract that averages out to $8 million US a season, Bure impressed his new fans by scoring 13 goals in 11 games last January. The joy was short-lived when he suffered a season-ending knee injury on Feb. 5. "It was a big disappointment for me," Bure said of the injury, which required his second knee operation. "I'm really lucky that I have really good friends and family who supported me through that hard time." Bure came to camp in September still not 100 per cent, still unsure about the knee. "When I first stepped on the ice after my second surgery, I didn't have confidence," he admits. "But you just have to take one step at a time - the more you play, the more confident you get." He's been hurt again this year, missing eight games - including a much-anticipated return to Vancouver on Nov. 5. But he's healthy now and the Panthers are winning, leading the Southeast Division by nine points over the Carolina Hurricanes with a 19-11-2-2 record. "We have to give credit to the management and the coaching staff, who put a really good team together. "It's a great mix we have on the team," Bure said, pointing to the veterans like Scott Mellanby and Ray Sheppard and the youngsters like Oleg Kvasha and Radek Dvorak. The Panthers need to be winning games, Bure says, because they're not alone in the Miami sports market. The Panthers have averaged 15,511 fans a game through 16 home dates. Capacity at the National Car Rental Center is 19,200. "It's hard to compete with the Miami Dolphins," said Bure, who was named the NHL's player of the week on Monday. "We have the Dolphins, the Miami Heat and the Marlins. "But we can only control so much. We just have to out there and try to win some games and hope the people will come." 'We gave the game to them'Panthers squander two-goal lead in third periodby David J Neal-- Miami HeraldTuesday, December 21, 1999
Too bad for the Panthers that Toronto had the last of the comebacks and took what the Panthers gave them in the third period for a 6-4 victory. ``We beat ourselves. We gave the game to them,'' Panthers coach Terry Murray said. ``All the decisions we made that got away from what we did in the second period were very disappointing.'' The Panthers took a 4-2 lead, then saw Toronto run off four consecutive goals, including two that finished off a hat trick for center Nikolai Antropov. Ray Whitney had two goals for the Panthers. Pavel Bure had a goal and two assists. Bure's second-period assist gave him an eight-game point streak, tying the team record set by Stu Barnes during the 1995 lockout season and tied by Radek Dvorak during the 1996-97 season. Bure's goal 40 seconds into the third gave him a five-game goal streak, breaking the team record he shared with Scott Mellanby, Bill Lindsay, Dvorak and Whitney. It was that goal, on a two-on-none with Mellanby, that ignited the wild third period and gave the Panthers a 3-2 lead. Momentum was already rolling south to Florida when Whitney tied the score at 2 with 19.1 seconds left in the second period. Robert Svehla spotted a mishandled puck in the neutral zone and Bure and Whitney tagging up at the Toronto line. Svehla's pass sent Bure and Whitney in on a two-on-one. A right point slapshot from Svehla was deflected into the top shelf by Whitney to put the Panthers up 4-2 at 2:22 of the third. At that point, the Panthers imitated the Mission: Impossible tape machine -- having made a point, they self-destructed. It did take longer than five seconds, though. With Svehla off for tripping, an Igor Korolev deflection from outside the right post got the Leafs back to within one, 4-3, at 5:10. Svehla almost tied the game himself on his next shift when he banked a breakout pass from behind the net off the back of goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov's right pad. Shtalenkov fell on the puck as it wobbled in the crease, preventing Svehla from becoming the Panthers' Steve Smith. No matter. With the Panthers on a power play, everybody except Bure went deep into the Leafs zone, though Toronto was in full possession of the puck. A breakout to Kevyn Adams left him one-on-one with Bure. Adams pulled up, waited for Dmitri Yushkevich and fed Yushkevich for a wrister over Shtalenkov's glove. Tie game, 4-4, 7:30 into the third. That lasted until Florida's Cam Stewart tried a drop pass for Bure high in the Florida zone, a fundamental no-no. Antropov picked it off, walked into the right circle and buried a drive inside the far post: 5-4. The Panthers still had a shot at a comeback. But only a few feet behind Stewart's boo-boo, Florida's Mike Wilson plunked teammate Ryan Johnson with a breakout pass. Toronto jumped on the turnover and Antropov was walking in alone on Shtalenkov to finish his hat trick with 6:23 left in the game. For the first 10 minutes, Toronto looked as if they would rout the Panthers just as the East's other division leader, Philadelphia, did last month. After Shtalenkov made a sterling save on Bryan Berard and Berard regained the puck, Mark Parrish, Rob Niedermayer and Ray Whitney followed Berard as he were the Pied Piper on an orbit of the Panthers zone. That left Antropov uncovered in the right circle, and he buried Berard's feed 1:28 into the game. If Toronto was on referee Bernard Degrace's Christmas list, Degrace took care of it on the goal that put the Leafs up 2-0. With the Leafs on the power play and the puck in the right corner of the Panthers zone. Toronto's Tie Domi performed a samurai chop across the hands of Florida's Jaroslav Spacek. Spacek crumpled to the ice in agony.
Degrace, who was looking directly at the play, made no call. This left the Leafs on a de facto five-on-three until Mats Sundin backhanded in a rebound at 10:10 of the second. The Panthers quickly assaulted Degrace about why the obvious call wasn't made nor play stopped for an injured player. Panthers rally, then tripby Michael Russo-- Sun-SentinelTuesday, December 21, 1999
There are no must-wins in December, no bench-mark games with 50 games to go. Pavel is Player (and Bure) of Weekby Michael Russo-- Sun-SentinelTuesday, December 21, 1999
Just before he boarded the team bus in Buffalo on Friday night, Pavel Bure's cell phone rang. Bure Named Player of the Week-- NHLMonday, December 20th, 1999
 NEW YORK (December 20, 1999) – Florida Panthers right wing Pavel Bure was named as NHL.com's Air Force Reserve Above and Beyond Player of the Week for the period of Monday, Dec. 13 through Sunday, Dec. 19. Bure led the Panthers to three consecutive victories by tallying a League-leading nine points (6-3-9), including three game-winning goals. The Panthers are third in the Eastern Conference, ranking fifth in the League’s overall standings (19-10-2-2 in 31 games). Bure began the week notching a goal and an assist in a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Dec. 15. On Dec. 17, he recorded his 12th career hat trick and added an assist Brooks runs out of miracles: Bure, Panthers stop Pens' streakby Michael Russo-- Sun-SentinelSunday, December 19th, 1999
PITTSBURGH -- For 10 days, Herb Brooks, the coach who led the United States to a gold medal in the 1980 Olympics, looked like he was manufacturing another miracle. The Panthers purr when Bure scores goalsBy Dejan Kovacevic-- post-gazette.comDecember 19th, 1999 Pavel Bure will smile sheepishly when you point out to him that the Florida Panthers have yet to lose this season when he scores. "It's just a coincidence." That's modest, but it's probably not the case. Bure nailed the back of the net twice to spark a 5-2 victory over the Penguins last night at the Civic Arena, lifting Florida's record to 13-0-1 when he gets at least one goal. And that's been happening quite a bit lately ... -He has 20 goals in just 23 games this season, including five in the past two and 13 in his past 10. -He has a seven-game points streak, with 11 goals and four assists in that span. -He has scored the winning goal in four of the Panthers' past six games, including the decisive tally last night. From there, consider that Florida has won four in a row, 13 of its past 17, and soared to the top of the Southeast Division standings with a 19-10-2 record. All but two games of that surge have come since Bure recovered from a broken finger in early November. "Obviously, it's more fun when you score and the team wins," Bure said. "But if I don't score and we win, that's good enough for me, too." It has taken Bure, 28, nearly a year to fully recover from his previous trip to town. On Feb. 5, he turned awkwardly on the Civic Arena ice and tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. A month later, he had reconstructive surgery and was lost for the season. He spent the next six months rehabilitating, much of it with Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis, who had a nearly identical injury. "He's gone through a tremendous amount of adversity," Panthers Coach Terry Murray said. "But he looks like he's starting to step up and become a very comfortable player out there." To say the least. Bure is once again one of the league's most dynamic and productive players, and he is unquestionably its hottest. His showing against the Penguins came less than 24 hours after a spectacular hat trick in a 4-2 victory at Buffalo. "He's had quite a couple of days," Murray said. "He's really alert right now, really making things happen on the offensive side of the game. Pavel really forces the opposition to think about what he's going to do when he's out there." "He's a dangerous player," right winger Scott Mellanby said. "His speed, his ability to finish is amazing." That was evident last night. Bure began his evening by setting up Viktor Kozlov's power-play goal at 12:47 of the first period with a nifty back-door pass that created a two-on-one. He then moved into third place in the NHL's goal-scoring list by charging down the right side into the Penguins' end and snapping a shot from the right dot between goaltender Peter Skudra's legs at 11:42 of the second period. And he capped his evening by slapping the puck into an empty net with 45 seconds left. Although it's difficult to ignore Bure's impact, Murray emphasized that Florida's winning ways have come as a group, not on the shoulders of their superstar. "You don't win back-to-back games in Buffalo and Pittsburgh and not have it be a team effort," Murray said. "Everybody was responsible." Bure echoed that, saying, "All 20 guys played as one here, and that's a great feeling." Oh, and that knee isn't exactly bugging him much. "Put it this way," Bure said. "It always feels good when you're winning." Panthers silence Penguinsby Alan Robinson-- AP SportsSaturday, December 18th, 1999 PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pavel Bure-Jaromir Jagr shootout turned out to be a mismatch, and so did the final score. Bure scored his fourth and fifth goals in two nights and the Florida Panthers ended the Pittsburgh Penguins' four-game winning streak under new coach Herb Brooks, winning 5-2 Saturday night. Jaroslav Spacek added a goal and two assists as Florida won its second game in two cities in as many nights and fourth in a row by opening a 4-0 lead in the second period. Mikhail Shtalenkov stopped 25 shots to win his third in a row since Florida goaltending star Trevor Kidd separated a shoulder in the team's skills competition. The Panthers have won six of seven and are 13-0-1 when Bure scores. ``That's just a coincidence, but it's obviously much more fun when you score and the team wins,'' Bure said. Bure, who had a three-goal game Friday night in Florida's 4-2 victory in Buffalo, added an assist and an empty-net shorthanded goal with 45 seconds remaining to win his personal shootout with NHL scoring leader Jagr. ``Pavel had a couple of great games back-to-back,'' Panthers coach Terry Murray said. ``He's really very alert and making a lot of things happen. I think it makes the opposition think about what they really want to do when he's out there.''
Bure scores winner again!Saturday, December 18th, 1999
 Pavel scored two goals, including the eventual game winner, and assisted on another to lead the Florida Panthers to a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pavel had 7 shots on goal and was a plus one on the plus minus scale. Bure heating up for Panthersby Brian Biggane-- Palm Beach PostSaturday, December 18th, 1999 BUFFALO -- Yes, Trevor Kidd will be sidelined for awhile. But as long as Pavel Bure looks as healthy as he did Friday night, the Florida Panthers will have a chance in every game they play. Bure registered his second hat trick in the past five games and moved into the NHL's top five with 18 goals as the Panthers beat Buffalo 4-2 on Friday night at Marine Midland Arena. Florida (18-10-2) won its third straight and fifth in six games as it won for just thesecond time in Buffalo in the last 12 tries. "Pavel had a tremendous impact on the hockey game," Florida coach Terry Murray said. "When (Viktor) Kozlov went out after the second period (after taking a stick to the head), he really stepped up his game." When Bure was sidelined for three games with a broken finger in early November, Murray estimated it would take six weeks for him to be back at full speed. Six weeks later, Bure has used that time to gain confidence in the knee that underwent reconstructive surgery last June. Now that he's scored 11 goals in his last nine games, he looks like the Bure the Panthers expected when they signed him to a five-year, $47 million contract last March. "Put it this way," said Bure, who also picked up an assistfor his first four-point night as a Panther, "it's always nice when you're winning. The whole team should get credit for the way we played tonight." Bure opened the scoring with only his second power-play goal of the season and first since opening night. The Panthers ran the same play three times and finally got it right when Ray Whitney found Bure alone coming down the slot and he flipped a shot over goaltender Martin Biron's right shoulder. "The third time he started from a little higher and they didn't see him," Whitney said. After Buffalo tied it on a Stu Barnes goal, Bure fed the trailing Whitney to put the Panthers ahead for good with 12:11 left in the second period. "It was a 3-on-2, and Robbie (Niedermayer) took care of his guy, which left me open," Whitney said. "I saw Pavel looking back at me at the red line and knew (the pass) was coming. I broke my stick -- it wasn't a great shot -- but it fluttered in." The goal was Whitney's 12th; the second assist gave defenseman Todd Simpson his first point of the season.
Bure's hat trick sparks winby Michael Russo-- Sun-SentinelSaturday, December 18th, 1999
The Panthers said December, and it's December. Rocket defies comparison to Sabres' star rookie with 4th hat trick as Catby Juan C. Rodriguez-- Miami HeraldSaturday, December 18th, 1999 BUFFALO -- Much of the pregame discussion Friday morning focused on whether the NHL's next Russian Rocket is housed in Buffalo. Many believe Sabres rookie right wing Maxim Afinogenov's skills are remarkably similar to those of Panthers star Pavel Bure. Once the game began, only one Russian Rocket lit up Marine Midland Arena. Bure notched his fourth hat trick as a Panther and added an assist as Florida defeated Buffalo, 4-2, in front of 16,753 fans. It was the Panthers' first win in Buffalo since Nov. 6, 1997, and gave them a nine-point lead over idle Carolina in the Southeast Division. As in its previous visit to Buffalo Oct. 29, Florida found itself nursing a one-goal, third-period lead. This time, the Panthers averted a disastrous ending. In the earlier meeting, Stu Barnes tied the game with 18 seconds to play, and Geoff Sanderson scored the game-winner six seconds into the overtime period. No miracle endings this time. Bure's empty-netter with 22 seconds left put the contest out of reach and extended Florida's winning streak to three games. Afinogenov assisted on Buffalo's first goal, but that was the extent of his offense. He entered the game with 12 points (8 goals, 4 assists) in 16 career games with the Sabres and leading all rookies with a 21.6 shooting percentage. Florida held him to four shots. ''With the way Pavel played, there wasn't much of a comparison,'' Panthers defenseman Mike Wilson said. ''We didn't really talk too much about [Afinogenov]. We just tried to stay close on all their fast guys. He made some pretty nice moves in the first period that got our attention.'' Bure also could boast some nice moves. He scored what proved the game-winner at 5:45 in the third period when he took control of a loose puck just inside the Panthers' side of the red line and split Barnes and defenseman Cory Sarich on his way toward the goal. After 33 games in a Panthers sweater, Bure is one hat trick shy of matching the career franchise mark held by Ray Sheppard. It took Sheppard 151 games to do it five times. ''We were ready to play this team tonight,'' said Bure, who now has a team-leading 18 goals in 22 games. ''I wouldn't separate myself from the team. It's always nice to see how well we're working as a team.'' The health problems that have punctuated Bure's tenure with Florida no longer appear an issue. The broken finger he suffered earlier this year is not a source of discomfort, and neither is his reconstructed knee, particularly on nights like Friday. ''Put it this way: It always feels good when you're winning,'' Bure said. ''The finger doesn't bother me.'' Nothing Buffalo did seemed to bother the Panthers. Florida, which has allowed the fewest goals of any NHL team this season, kept Buffalo's offense in the doldrums. The Sabres have failed to score three goals in all but one game this month. In addition, Florida killed all three Buffalo power plays. No surprise there, considering the Sabres entered the game tied for the league's worst success rate with a man advantage (9.5 percent). Bure's goal-scoring acumen, coupled with goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov's 29 saves, proved more than enough for the win. For Shtalenkov, the victory was his third in five games with Florida. Bure and Ray Whitney collaborated on Florida's first two goals. Whitney found Bure on the right wing one minute into the Panthers' initial power play at 7:42 in the opening period. Bure, who now has nine goals in his last six games, took the shot from just inside the circle and beat Martin Biron high glove side. Defenseman Robert Svehla was credited with his 13th assist, only his second point in 14 games. Bure, who extended his point streak to six games, returned the favor at 7:49 in the second period, finding Whitney streaking down the left with Rob Niedermayer. Whitney broke his stick on the shot, but he got enough on it for his 12th goal of the year.
''[Bure] obviously had a tremendous impact on this hockey game,'' Panthers coach Terry Murray said. ''When you come into Buffalo, you have to have everybody playing extremely well.'' Hats off to Bure-- ES - NHLPAFriday, December 17th, 1999
 BUFFALO, New York -- Just how good is Pavel Bure? Tonight's performance might give you the answer. The superstar right wing recorded his second hat trick in five games and added an assist as Florida won its third straight, 4-2 over the Buffalo Sabres. Bure has eight goals in his last five games and 12 in his last nine, helping the Panthers to a 7-2 mark. His only goal-less games in that span came in losses. Florida is 12-0-1 when he scores. "I wouldn't separate myself from the team," he said. "It was a team effort. Take the last goal, all I had to do was push the puck across the goal line." Known as "The Russian Rocket," Bure opened the scoring with a power-play goal, scored the decisive marker on a breakaway in the third and added an empty-netter for his 13th career hat trick. "We made some big mistakes and he capitalized on them," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. Mikhail Shtalenkov stopped 29 shots for the Panthers, who snapped a five-game winless streak in Buffalo. They lead the Southeast Divison by nine points over Carolina. "When you come into Buffalo, you got to have everyone playing extremely well and I thought it was a big team win for us," said coach Terry Murray. Former Panther Stu Barnes and Miroslav Satan scored for Buffalo, which was unbeaten in three straight games after winning their last two. Bure made sure the Sabres' winning streak did not reach three games. He used his blazing speed to make it 3-1 with 14:15 left, intercepting a pass from rookie Cory Sarich in the neutral zone and beating rookie Martin Biron on a breakaway. "I don't remember how it happened," Bure said. "The puck was just loose on the blue line. I turned around and saw everyone going toward me, so it wasn't really hard. I just had to put the puck in front of me and go for the breakaway." Miroslav Satan later cut Florida's lead to a goal with his 14th, but Bure hit an empty net from in front with 22 seconds to play for his 18th goal in 22 games this season. Bure and Ray Whitney combined on each of the Panthers' first two goals. Bure opened the scoring on the power play off a feed from Whitney, who cashed in on a pass from Bure to give Florida a 2-1 edge 7:49 into the second. Bure, who played only 11 games in 1998-99 due to a knee injury, has missed eight this season but still is tied with Whitney for the team lead in points with 27. "He's gone through a tremendous amount of adversity," Murray said. "To have another reconstruction and to expect a lot early was really unfair for us as an organization, and maybe we were all hoping that tonight was the night to break out." Bure nets hat trickby Bill Porter-- Fox SportsFriday, December 17th, 1999 BUFFALO, N.Y. — Pavel Bure is playing so well, he doesn't need the opposition to give him the puck. The Buffalo Sabres did anyway. Bure completed a hat trick with an empty-net goal with 22 seconds left and assisted Ray Whitney's goal as the Florida Panthers beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on Friday night. "He's quite an exciting player, isn't he," Florida coach Terry Murray said. Bure has 11 goals in the last nine games and eight in the last five. He also has 23 points in his 12 career games against Buffalo. "When you hand the puck to one of the best breakaway players in the world, he's going to kill you," Sabres center Brian Holzinger said. Holzinger's drop pass for Stu Barnes wound up on Bure's stick and in the Buffalo net seconds later for a 3-1 lead in the third period. The Panthers snapped the Sabres' five-game home unbeaten streak (4-0-1) against Florida since November 1997. It was the 13th career hat trick for Bure and his second in five games. "It's a team effort," Bure said. "That last goal, (Scott) Mellanby had to go down and get a puck and put it in front of the net. It's always nice to see how we're working as a team." Barnes and Miroslav Satan scored for the Sabres, who lost for the first time in four games and had a two-game win streak halted. Satan scored his team-leading 14th goal with 6:49 remaining to cut the deficit to one goal. Goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov made 29 saves for the Panthers, who won their third straight and fifth of their last six. Shtalenkov made a big save on Barnes with 2:10 left. The Sabres' power play continued to sputter as they managed just two shots in three man-advantage situations and have just one power-play goal in their last 43 chances. "How many times have we talked about this?" said Satan, whose team was booed as it skated off from its second and third futile attempts on the power play. "I have nothing to say about it anymore. Obviously, the fans feel the same way we do." Bure, who has either scored or assisted on seven of the Panthers' last eight goals, scored a power-play goal at 7:42 of the first period with Richard Smehlik in the box for holding. Bure one-timed a pass from Whitney over Buffalo goalie Martin Biron's glove for a 1-0 lead. Buffalo tied it 1-1 when rookie Maxim Afinogenov rushed the puck down the right wing and tapped it to Holzinger at the blue line. Holzinger skated down low and swung the puck across to Barnes for the tying goal with 2:05 left in the first. Florida regained the lead at 7:49 of the second period when Whitney scored his 12th goal. Bure fed Whitney, whose shot deflected in off defenseman Jay McKee. Shtalenkov made a save on a shot in front by Geoff Sanderson three minutes into the third to preserve the lead. Bure picked up the errant drop pass from Holzinger at the blue line, circled and blew past defenseman Cory Sarich for the easy breakaway goal between Biron's pads and 3-1 lead at 5:45 of the third. Bure's third goal gave him a team-high 18. Satan scored with an assist from Sanderson for a 3-2 score with 6:49 to play. Sanderson knocked the puck loose, chased it into the corner and passed out front to Satan for the one-timer.
Bure nets second hat trick in 5 games-- ESPNFriday, December 17th, 1999 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Pavel Bure completed a hat trick with an empty-net goal with 22 seconds left and the Florida Panthers beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on Friday night. The Panthers snapped the Sabres' five-game home unbeaten streak (4-0-1) against Florida since November 1997. It was the 13th career hat trick for Bure. Stu Barnes and Miroslav Satan scored for the Sabres, who lost for the first time in four games and had a two-game win streak halted. Satan scored his team-leading 14th goal with 6:49 remaining to cut the deficit to one goal. Goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov made 29 saves for the Panthers, who won their third straight and five of their last six. Shtalenkov made a big save on Barnes with 2:10 left. The Sabres' power play continued to sputter as they managed just two shots in three man-advantage situations and have just one power-play goal in their last 43 chances. Bure has 11 goals in the last nine games and eight in the last five. He also has 23 points in his 12 career games against Buffalo. Bure, who has either scored or assisted on seven of the Panthers' last eight goals, scored a power-play goal at 7:42 of the first period with Richard Smehlik in the box for holding. Bure one-timed a pass from Ray Whitney over Buffalo goalie Martin Biron's glove for his team-high 16th goal and a 1-0 lead. Buffalo tied it 1-1 when rookie Maxim Afinogenov rushed the puck down the right wing and tapped it to Brian Holzinger at the blue line. Holzinger skated down low and swung the puck across to Barnes for the tying goal with 2:05 left in the first. Florida regained the lead at 7:49 of the second period when Whitney scored his 12th goal on a three-on-one break with only defenseman Jay McKee back for Buffalo. Bure fed Whitney, whose shot deflected in off McKee. Shtalenkov made a save on a shot in front by Geoff Sanderson three minutes into the third to preserve the lead. Bure picked up an errant drop pass from Holzinger at the blue line, circled and blew past defenseman Cory Sarich for the easy breakaway goal between Biron's pads and 3-1 lead at 5:45 of the third. Satan scored with an assist from Sanderson for a 3-2 score with 6:49 to play. Sanderson knocked the puck loose, chased it into the corner and passed out front to Satan for the one-timer. Sabres defenseman Richard Smehlik sustained a rib injury in the second period and did not return. Florida center Viktor Kozlov left the game in the third with a headache.Pavel scores hat trick and game-winning goalFriday, December 17th, 1999Pavel scored a hat-trick and had a helper as well in Florida's 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. He had 8 shots on goal, and was a plus 3 for the night. Duma Elections - Tatyana BureNationwide Candidates-- St.Petersburg Times (Russia)December 17th, 1999
2. Tatyana Bure, The mother of one of Russia's most successful exports, National Hockey League star Pavel Bure, is running second on the party list. U.S. sports shows have been running nasty stories about her son's alleged connections to Russia's other successful export - the mafia - but no one has a bad word to say about his mom. Bure, 51, is from Moscow and unemployed. Pavel scores game-winning goalWednesday, December 15th, 1999
 The Predators' Joel Bouchard, right, tries to slow down the Panthers' Pavel Bure as Bure circles the Nashville net in the first period. Pavl Bure scored his 15th goal of the season and second game winning goal of the season, as the Florida Panthers scored a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Bure was skating toward the net from the right side when he collected Scott Mellanby's backhand pass from behind the net and slid the puck to the right of goaltender Mike Dunham for his 15th goal of the season and sixth in the last five games. ''Scott Mellanby should get credit for it,'' Bure said. ''He was working hard behind the net, took a hit, then just threw the puck on my stick.'' Pavel also set up the team's first goal of the game. He was even on the plus minus scale and had 5 shots on goal in the game.
Panthers shine at Fed Ex/NHL Superskills competitionTuesday, December 14th, 1999
SUNRISE, FLORIDA – Center Viktor Kozlov, defenseman Filip Kuba and defenseman Bret Hedican were just some of the players who starred at today’s NHL Fed Ex Super Skills Competition at National Car Rental Center. Kozlov, Kuba and
Hedican led the Red Team to a 6-3 victory over the Blue Team in front of a crowd of approximately 5,000 middle school students from Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County schools.
Players downshift when they can and avoid events that can be injurious. Nobody was going at full speed in the Puck Control Relay. Pavel Bure, who missed five games with a groin injury this season, didn't participate in the Fastest Skater event. World All-Stars VotingDecember 14th, 1999Voting for the NHL World All-Star Team with country abrreviation in parentheses, NHL team and votes as of Dec.13. The All-Star game will be held Feb. 6, 2000 in Toronto (x-unsigned free agent):
World Team
Goalies
Centers
Defensemen Cats await Bure's bestby Jay Greenberg-- Palm Beach PostTuesday, December 14th, 1999 About 160 miles south of Cape Canaveral, the transferred Russian Rocket periodically pokes its nose from the silo. Some days, this candle looks about to light, on others it appears as rusted as a Soviet submarine. But one night in early December, the very threat of Pavel Bure had Washington running more scared than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Late in the first period, Bure picked up the puck in the neutral zone, fired down the wing and from almost against the boards, blasted the puck between the legs of Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig. Bad-angle goal, sure, but scored on a goalie more frozen in anxiety than even the Florida Panthers' management every time Bure gets hit. "I don't worry about it," said team president Bill Torrey, his nose looking like Tim Hunter's. Because of knee, groin and finger problems, Bure has played in only 19 of the 56 Panthers' games since his acquisition 11 months ago, leaving trainer Stan Wong standing at the bench with a can of WD-40, plus a party hat, for every time the right winger completes a shift. "There have been flashes, but it's not fully in sync," Torrey said. He meant the player, not the organization, the members of which are cued to collectively hold their breath. Somebody at Orca Bay is sticking pins in the doll. The Panthers stepped up and got Bure (and Bret Hedican, Brad Ference and a third round draft pick) from Vancouver for the entirely reasonable price of Ed Jovanovski, Dave Gagner, Kevin Weekes, Mike Brown and a first round pick, which to our view is a gamble any team that could afford to pay Bure could not afford to pass up. There aren't enough individuals who can sell seats for five NHL teams, let alone 28. "Our market has a contending NBA team moving to a new building and the Dolphins," said Torrey. "We need the scoring and excitement." Of course, there are few things less exciting than the announcement of scratches from a lineup. Unless it's Pat Falloon being scratched. Bure's right knee has been cut up more often than Buffalo's power play and though the Panthers swear the rehab has now made the damaged leg stronger than the other, the groin is an ongoing concern. The finger was a chance thing, emblematic of Bure's fickle fate. "He has been great for us, but I know there is going to be more," said coach Terry Murray. For $48 million over five years, there had better be, but Bure has averaged over a point a game as a Panther, despite the interruptions and absence of a playmaking center. Viktor Kozlov is a shooter and Rob Niedermayer a bull working with fine china. "You're pushing your luck expecting Pavel to carry a line by himself against good checking teams," Murray said. "Of course, he attracts attention that makes other lines better." He also makes the bottom line better, never mind his salary. As the 27-year-old star was up for auction, teams who could afford Bure flunked not only hockey and marketing, but also accounting. We suspect bigotry was involved. Here was a Russian who blew off half of his $8.5-million salary a year ago to liberate himself from Vancouver bosses he had grown to distrust. Suspicions of his motivation ran higher than they would for a Canadian or American exercising similar capitalism. "Regardless of where I wanted to go then, I wouldn't go anywhere, if I had that choice today," said Bure. The weather is warm and the team is keeping its head above .500, even with him barely scratching his surface. The National Car Rental Center isn't full, but it is football season and the team is still making a profit, even if owner Wayne Huizenga, needing to raise share prices in his publicly owned hotel and resort business, has been told to cut the Panthers from its portfolio. The sale price can't help but be enhanced by a star attraction, making Huizenga dumb like a fox to throw money at a priceless player who so far can't buy a break. One certainly senses no apprehension in Bure. "Let's put it this way," he said. "I feel okay, my team is winning, I am scoring some goals and I am satisfied right now. When I get to where I want to be, I'll let you know." We'll be able to tell soon enough, on our own.
Pavel featured in magazineDecember 14th, 1999An excellent four page article, with great photos, has Pavel Bure featured in the January 2000 edition of SPORT magazine. They even mention our fan club in the article! Sibling votes need you !!December 12th, 1999TSN is running a poll to see 'Who is the best sibling tandem in the NHL?'. At present time, the Pavel and Valeri Bure duo is leading the Steve and Paul Kariya duo by 62% to 38%
Bure's empty netter seals win.Saturday, December 11th, 1999
 Pavel Bure brings the puck around the net after beating out Nashville Predators Joel Bouchard (R,) down the ice, during first period NHL action December 11 at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center. Photo by M. J. Masotti Jr. (Reuters) A horrible night by winless Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun and a blown call by the referees allowed the Panthers to slip away with a 4-2 victory. Whitney, lying on the ice, closed his hand on the puck, drew it into his body and shoveled it out. By definition, that's a penalty shot, but to the dismay of Ronning and the rest of the Predators, neither Brad Meier, who was standing there, nor referee Mick McGeough made the call. But Bure's 14th into an empty net with 8.4 seconds left in the game sealed the win. Pavel was a plus two for the night, with three shots on goal. Whether he was responding to criticism or just showing the talent everyone knows he has, Bure was dominating in Phoenix. His finger appears to be fully healed and neither his groin nor his knee seem to be bothering him. Bure and Viktor Kozlov also seem to be finding some chemistry, and Mellanby has been playing some of his best hockey in years.
Pavel assists in losing effortFriday, December 10th, 1999Pavel assisted with Kozlov's game tying goal in the second period. But Dallas scored the game winning goal in the third period to make it 4-3 for Dallas. Pavel had one shot on goal and was a plus one for the night. "Obviously we are disappointed that we lost the game, but it was a good sign that we never gave up after being down by three," Florida winger Pavel Bure said. "When you're in the third period and the game is very tight, it is those types of games that you have to learn how to win. Playoff teams know how to pull off those types of victories and the Dallas Stars certainly know how to go about doing that." Florida Panthers Team Reportby Brian Biggane-- Palm Beach PostThursday, December 9th, 1999 As expected, Pavel Bure is leading the team in goals with 10. But anyone who thinks all is peachy-keen between the team and its superstar isn't reading between the lines. Of those 10 goals, one has come on the power play. Statistics show the team is excellent on the power play without Bure and well below average with him. That has some wondering if the tam might be better off if he were to take a seat for those two minutes. The skinny: Florida is 6-of-78 (7.7 percent) on the power play in the 17 games Bure has played, and 12-of-35 (36.3 percent) in the eight games he's missed because of injury. By way of comparison, Colorado is leading the league with a 27.2 percent success rate. Last season was markedly different. Florida was 9-of-50 (18 percent) with Bure, and 42-of-330 (12.7 percent) without him. So what's happened? Clearly, Bure isn't the same player as the wunderkind who scored 13 goals in 11 games last season. Reconstructive knee surgery last March has not only robbed him of some of his quickness, but has him ducking away from almost all contact. Bure wasn't a guy who went to the net and took abuse. But when things get sticky in the corners, he's not about to go in and dig out a loose puck. And his need to get rid of a puck while opponents are bearing down on him has clearly increased as well. With Bure, Viktor Kozlov and Oleg Kvasha getting power-play time, the only Panthers willing to pay the price in front of the net are Rob Niedermayer and Mark Parrish. They rarely play together, meaning one player at a time is setting screens and making life difficult for opposing goaltenders. The team needs more than that. IN THE CREASE Terry Murray was adamant that Bure will continue to play every power play, stats or no stats. Of course, even that statement raises questions: Must Bure play because of his $47 million contract? Does Murray really have a choice? And if the power play -- 2-for-39 going into the Phoenix game -- continues to struggle, what happens next? Bure is a great scorer and acknowledged superstar. But if changes have to be made -- or at least tried -- even the greatest players must accept the reality. Murray should sit him, or at least use him on the second unit, for a game or two and see what happens.
Rocket hits Buffalo-- TSNWednesday, December 8th, 1999
With Pavel Bure back in form, Bob Essensa's unbeaten streak came crashing down. Bure scored three times in a five-goal third period for his 12th career hat trick as the Florida Panthers handed Essensa his first loss of the season, defeating the Phoenix Coyotes, 6-1. At 9-0-1, Essensa was the only unbeaten goaltender in the NHL. But he surrendered three goals in a 2:07 span early in the final period and was pulled in favor of rookie Robert Esche just over six minutes later. Bure had shown signs of life with three goals in his previous four games. But he doubled that total in one period with his first hat trick since March 3. He broke a 1-1 tie 38 seconds into the final frame when he fired a slap shot from the left faceoff circle that found space under Essensa's right arm and made it inside the right goalpost. Bret Hedican made it 3-1 at 2:10, breaking down the slot without the puck and beating Essensa to the glove side with a one-timer off Ray Whitney's pass. Bure struck again 35 seconds later and completed his hat trick on a breakaway in the final minute. In between, Whitney also scored on a breakaway for Florida, which has won four of its last five games. "I don't think there was a difference between the periods," Bure said. "It was just payoff time. We scored the first lucky goal and we just kept pushing." Mikhail Shtalenkov made 26 saves for the win in his first game against the Coyotes since they traded him to the Panthers on November 19. It was his first start for Florida. "We had this marked on our calender for a while now," Panthers coach Terry Murray said. "We knew (Shtalenkov) was gonna make his first start here. It was in front of his family and friends. I'm very happy for him, he played great." "I'm happy about the win, not any more happy because it's against the Coyotes," Shtalenkov added. "If you win, you're more likely to play sooner. We kept it close and in the third period we killed them." Greg Adams scored on the power play for Phoenix, which again played without injured captain Keith Tkachuk and has lost two of three following an eight-game winning streak. "The schedule had something to do with the loss," Coyotes coach Bobby Francis said. "I don't want to make excuses but it was our eighth game in 14 days. I was lifting the guys up and helping them over the boards in the third period." Jeremy Roenick picked up an assist on Adams' goal, extending his points streak to 11 games. "You can't keep that little Russian kid off the sheets for too long," Roenick said. "We made some mental mistakes. We got tired. It's a humbling experience and maybe we need that right now."
Bure gets hat trick in 6-1By David J Neal-- Miami HeraldDecember 8th, 1999 PHOENIX -- If the Panthers hadn't tossed their hats into the ring as one of the NHL's best teams already, they did Wednesday night with a hat trick of goals early in the third period and a hat trick by Pavel Bure that keyed a 6-1 victory. Three goals in 2:07 early in the third launched a team record-tying, five-goal period against the Coyotes, who had been playing better than anybody in the NHL over the past month and recently saw its nine-game winning streak snapped. In addition to Bure's hat trick, left wing Ray Whitney had a goal and an important assist to end a run of three points in nine games. All kinds of firsts were set Wednesday night. Phoenix goalie Bob Essensa's last loss was April 3 at Colorado. Essensa's 9-0-1 record was a big part of Phoenix's nine-game winning streak, yet the fans booed the Coyotes after the Panthers took a 4-1 lead in the third. Essensa was removed at 9:03 in the third period. This was goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov's first start and win as a Panther. The Panthers have a three-point Southeast Division lead over Carolina, which lost Wednesday, 2-1, in Dallas. The game was even after two periods -- 1-1 in goals, 16-16 in shots. Then bang, bang, bang, and down the Coyotes went. A backhand pass by Florida's Scott Mellanby, promoted to the Viktor Kozlov-Bure line late in the second period, found Bure entering the Phoenix zone. Bure overpowered goalie Bob Essensa with a drive off the right side of Essensa's abdomen to make it 2-1 at 48 seconds of the third. Next, Panthers left wing Ray Whitney picked up the puck behind the Phoenix net after Mark Parrish drove it deep with a rush up the right wing. Whitney slid out and spotted defenseman Bret Hedican pinching into the slot. By the time Essensa moved on Hedican's one-timer, Hedican had his arms in the air to make it 3-1 at 2:10 of the third. The following shift, Kozlov stickhanded off the right boards to the front of the net through the sticks and pokes of Juha Ylonen and defenseman Jyrki Lumme. Behind Lumme's back, Bure came from behind the net and banged the rebound into an open net to make it 4-1 at 2:45 of the third. Whitney's breakaway goal at 10:40 of the third brought on garbage time and Bure scored in the last minute for his first hat trick this season. The struggling Panthers power play once again got a demonstration in proper execution, and Florida point man Robert Svehla had a good seat for it -- the penalty box.
Svehla was sitting for closing his hand on the puck before throwing it out of the Florida zone when Teppo Numminen's point shot from straight on was deflected in by Greg Adams. Pavel is a winner!Wednesday, December 8th, 1999
Pavel Bure scored his 12th hat-trick of his NHL season, in helping Florida beat the Phoenix Coyotes 6-1. It was his third three-goal game since Vancouver traded him to the Panthers on Jan. 17 Included in his first hat-trick for this season was Pavel's first ever game winning goal for his Florida Panthers team. He had 7 shots on goal, and was a plus 3 on the night. ``It was just payoff time,'' said Bure, who got his first hat trick of the season, his third with the Panthers since they acquired him in January and 12th of his career. ``We were working hard and finally got some breaks. We scored the first lucky goal, and we just kept pushing.'' "I don't think there was a difference between the periods," Bure said about Florida's five-goal surge in the final period. "It was just payoff time. We were working hard and finally got some breaks."
Is Bure to blame for Panthers' power-play woes?by Brian Biggane-- Palm Beach PostWednesday, December 8th, 1999 PHOENIX -- It seems ludicrous to suggest the Florida Panthers' struggling power play might be better off without the team's lone superstar. But some startling statistics say that might just be the case. The Panthers are a pathetic 2-for-36 with the man advantage in nine games since Pavel Bure returned from a finger injury, and a paltry 6-of-78 (7.7 percent) in the 17 games he has played this season. In the seven games he hasn't played, the Panthers are 12-of-35, a lofty 36.3 percent. By comparison, Colorado leads the league with a 27.2 percent success rate. The numbers are a stark contrast to Bure's power-play production last year. His five goals with the man advantage helped the Panthers to a solid 18 percent (9-for-50) in the 11 games he played, compared to 12.7 percent (42-of-330) in 71 games without him. Ask Panther players and coaches about the recent struggles of the power play and you get a myriad of answers: poor entry passes, failure to get shots to the net, overpassing. But one theme resounded more than any other: getting traffic in front of the goaltender. With players like Bure, Viktor Kozlov and Oleg Kvasha involved, the traffic has been at a minimum. "We'll get one guy in there sometimes, but one guy isn't enough," said one player who requested anonymity. "You've got to have two guys," another said. "After Pavel went out in Edmonton, we scored a bunch of power-play goals (four in two games), simply because of traffic. "If you've got guys in front, they can not only be tying up defensemen but obscuring the view of the goaltender, which causes all sorts of problems. You don't get people there and the goaltender has an unobstructed view of the point shots and there's no rebounds or deflections." While Bure leads the team in goals with 10, he's clearly not the same player he was before a second reconstruction of his right knee last March. In situations he would almost welcome contact, this year he has resolutely been avoiding it. Bure doesn't position himself in front of the net, instead preferring a spot somewhere between the right goalpost and faceoff circle. While he might be found around the edges of a scrum in front of the net, he won't be found in the middle of it. Another contributing factor has been that teammates work religiously to get the puck to Bure, often passing up their own scoring opportunities in the process. The best example came Friday in Atlanta, when Ray Whitney, about 15 feet from the net with no defenseman between him and the goaltender, tried to force a pass to Bure. "We're trying to find him and get the puck to him because we know he is a great goal scorer," coach Terry Murray said. Murray still had Bure on his top unit as he worked extensively on the power play the last two days. He said traffic has increased in recent games and expressed optimism the unit will right itself. "We're not in sync right now," he said. "Percentages say we've got to get it turned around and have everything working the right way. . . . We'll continue top play Pavel on every power play and get things worked out so the percentages start to improve." Man advantage is no advantageby Michael Snyder-- Sun-SentinelSunday, December 5th, 1999 The Panthers' power play hasn't scared anyone of late. Except maybe the Panthers. In the last nine games, Florida is a woeful 2 for 39 with a man advantage. Perhaps not coincidentally, those are the games since right wing Pavel Bure returned from a broken finger. Defenseman Robert Svehla said it shouldn't be complicated, just "one pass to the blue line and shoot." But for the Panthers, that's easier said than done. The Panthers were 0 for 5 in Friday's 2-1 loss to Atlanta and 0 for 3 in Saturday night's 2-1 victory over Washington. Coach Terry Murray isn't happy with the numbers, but he doesn't feel his players are pressing to get the puck to their superstar. "(We're) a little bit too cute at times," Murray said. "I wouldn't say it's to Pavel in particular, but I would say we're overpassing the puck. That's a tendency that you do get because of not having some success just shooting the puck." The Panthers have scored more than three goals only once in the nine games. They've been shut out once during that stretch and held to a single goal in two others. Florida went 7 for 17 on the power play in the four games Bure missed. Bure leads the Panthers with 10 goals. "We just have to put the puck on the net," Bure said. "That's what we can do about it. Sometimes it just doesn't go in. We're moving the puck well and we're shooting, but you have to give credit to the penalty-killing." The biggest problem appears to be getting traffic in front of the goaltender and then shooting instead of passing. "Our power play breakout and setup (Saturday) wasn't very clean, wasn't very consistent," Murray said. Svehla said it's natural the Panthers look to send the puck Bure's way. "He's the best player not just on this team but in the NHL, so he has to play that power play," he said. "We just need another guy who's in front of the net." The Russian Racketby Ed Willes-- Vancouver ProvinceSunday, December 5th, 1999 Another weird entry in the always weird Pavel Bure annals. Last week, some clown created his own web page that appeared to be connected to the ESPN website. The bogus site then ran a story under the headline, "Pavel Bure leaves the Panthers - and the NHL," which said, among other things, Bure was retiring because he felt the salaries of some players were 'hugely overvalued." Good one. Anyway, some Panthers fans took copies of the story to Panthers officials who had to explain it was all a hoax.
Pavel scores first goal in gameSaturday, December 4th, 1999
 Washington Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig (37) can't stop a shot by Pavel Bure (not pictured) during the first period, Dec. 4, 1999 in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/ Gary I. Rothstein-) SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- When Pavel Bure scores, it is almost always good for a Florida Panthers' win, especially when Trevor Kidd turns in a stellar performance. Bure scored in the first period, Kidd made 35 saves and Scott Mellanby got the go-ahead goal 3:10 into the third period to lift the Panthers to a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals. Pavel Bure scored the game's first goal for Florida at 12:17 of the opening period. Bure took the puck at the left boards near the red line and raced past Jeff Halpern at the blue line. From a tough angle in the faceoff circle, Bure ripped a slap shot between the legs of Kolzig. Florida improved to 8-0-1 when he gets a goal. It was the 10th goal of the year for Bure, who has 16 points in 17 games. The Panthers are 8-0-1 when Bure scores a goal, and 9-0-2 when he has at least one point. Bure ended with up with four shots on goal and was a plus one for the night.
 Pavel Bure gets high fives from his bench after he scored his tenth goal of the season against Washington Capitals in the first period, Dec.4, 1999 in Sunrise, Fla.(AP Photo/ Gary I. Rothstein-)
Pavel dries up in AtlantaFriday, December 3rd, 1999Atlanta Thrashers defeated Florida Panthers 2-1. Pavel Bure was held off the score board in the loss. He had two scoring shots on the net and was a plus one for the game. Gretzky-- USA TodayWednesday, December 1st, 1999 Wayne Gretzky suggested last week that he might have kept playing had the Rangers acquired Pavel Bure instead of Florida. So Panthers President Bill Torrey was ready for Gretzky's arrival at the Hall of Fame ceremonies. "Hey Wayne, I need to talk to you," Torrey said in jest. "If you still want to play with Pavel, I can arrange it."
Bure must payBy David J Neal-- Miami HeraldWednesday, December 1st, 1999 Ottawa Tax Court Judge Cameron McArthur ruled that Pavel Bure has to pay income tax on the $340,000 commission the Vancouver Canucks paid to his former agent, Ron Salcer, when he negotiated Bure's $25 million deal in 1996. Bure testified in the case in August.
Pavel third in All-Star Balotting--NHL.comWednesday, December 1st, 1999 NEW YORK (Nov. 30, 1999) - Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Jaromir Jagr leads all votegetters for the World All-Stars in NHL All-Star Vote 2000 -- sponsored by Wendy's in the U.S., McDonalds in Canada -- to determine the starting lineups for the 50th NHL All-Star Game, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2000 in Toronto (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC, CBC, SRC). The top NHL players representing Canada and United States will comprise the North America All-Star Team, who will face the top NHL players from the rest of the world. Following is the list of players on the World All-Stars ballot and their current voting totals:
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