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Pavel Gossip Line
Summarized from PBFC newsletter
- A photo of Pavel is featured on the cover of the May 26 issue of 'TV Week'.
- The May 9 issue of the 'Vancouver Province' newspaper has a full-legth feature article of Pavel.
- One of Pavel's fans, Jamie Einsohn of Addison Texas, scored a major coup recently. Sge wrote to Pavel with a personal birthday card addressed to Pavel and signed by herslef and Shane Churla!
That's right ... Shane Churla, the Dallas Stars player Pavel elbowed unconscious during the play-offs last season. Tha same Shane Churla who promised revenge on Pavel. 'He's not a very nice person', writes Jamie. 'I tricked him into signing it. Churla was signing autographs, and I also put one of Pavel's hockey cards in front of him and asked him to sign my Pavel card. He screamed, 'NO', but signed it anyway'. So now Pavel has a birthday card and a Topps Stadium Pavel Bure card, both signed by Shane Churla. Say What?!
- Pavel finished the regular season with the follwoing stats..
- GP = 44
- G = 20
- A = 23
- Pts = 43
- +/- = -8
- PIM = 47
- PP = 6
- SH = 2
- GW = 2
- GT = 0
- S = 198
- % = 10.1
- Pavel finished the overtime season with the follwoing stats..
- GP = 7
- G = 7
- A = 5
- Pts = 12
- +/- = -1
- PIM = 6
- Pavel was injured in the last regular-season hockey game of the season. He suffered torn rib-muscles that popped on him suddenly.
He was unable to get off the ice, and delayed the game for about five minutes. He was rushed to the hospital and sicharged shortly after. Pavel eventually fully recovered from his third career injury.
- After the first round of the play-offs, Pavel was the top goal-scorer with seven goals.
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Canuck Diary
Summarized from PBFC newsletter
- May 3 at San Jose (3-3 Tie)
- Pavel was injured in the third period of the last hockey game of the regular season. There is a delay of game of five minutes, as he was rushed to hospital.
(Shots: SJ 33; Van 37. Goals: Bure, Momesso, Oksuita).
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View of the Blues-Canucks Series
By Bob Ramage - St.Louis Sports.com
When evaluating the Vancouver Canucks, two Vancouver players stand out--Pavel Bure and Kirk McLean. If either plays to his 1994 playoff form (Bure: 16 goals and 15 assists in the 24 1994 playoff games; McLean: 2.29 GAA and 4 shutouts in 24 games), the Canucks will once again be a force to be reckoned with.
But in addition to discussing these two marquee players, let's consider the Canucks personnel in four areas: defensemen, forwards, goaltending, and intangibles.
As far as the Canucks defensemen are concerned, a word that comes to mind is "able". Jeff Brown and Jyrki Lumme provide the most offense, although Brown may miss the first game or two with a slightly separated shoulder. If the Blues forwards are able to prevent Brown and Lumme from jumping into the attack, St. Louis' chances of defeating the Canucks improve dramatically.
Of late, two rookies (Jassen Cullimore and Yevgeny Namestnikov) have seen increased amounts of ice time on Vancouver's blue line. Persistent Blues forechecking, a strength of most Mike Keenan teams, should create havoc and cause turnovers, especially if the aforementioned youngsters see a lot of ice time.
Vancouver's defenders are not the NHL's most punishing...of those that take a regular shift (Brown, Lumme, Dave Babych, Bret Hedican, Dana Murzyn, and Cullimore), Murzyn is the most physical (129 PIM). Murzyn's +14 is testament to his strong overall play.
Up front, the Canucks have three speedy players--Bure and the Courtnall brothers, Geoff and Russ. Despite his lackadaisical play this year, Bure is ever dangerous and Blues defenseman must always be conscious of his location on the ice. Both Courtnalls have the ability to get under a defenseman's skin. In addition, Trevor Linden is the team's captain and serves as its inspiration, while ex-Blue Cliff Ronning hopes to rebound from a sub-par regular season with a strong playoff performance.
Sergio Momesso is a physical presence, and Tim Hunter is a heavyweight who will finish. John McIntyre is an Ian Laperriere-type player (without Ian's skills) who often irritates opponents. As always, Blues defenders must move the puck quickly to avoid big hits and defeat the Canucks forechecking.
The goaltending match-up is a good one. McLean is much less acrobatic than Curtis Joseph and is a more traditional stand-up goaltender who plays the angles well. As far as Joseph is concerned, the Blues netminder seems to be rejuvenated following his enforced absence for a few games due to injury.
Overall, the Blues-Canucks series has the potential to be a physical one. Bure's listless play has to be a concern to Canucks coach Rick Ley. Bure is a great talent and a real treat to watch when he is on. For the world's hockey fans, it would be nice to see him put whatever seems to be troubling him in the background and be the superstar that he is. The Blues need to continue their disciplined, workmanlike ways. The kids (Laperriere, Chasse, and Roberts) provide a spark, and veterans such as Guy Carbonneau, Al MacInnis, Greg Gilbert, Glenn Anderson, and Esa Tikkanen have been there before and provide steadying leadership. Blues holdovers such as Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan, and Curtis Joseph are hungry to excel in post-season play.
Finally, Mike Keenan has his club focused and believing they are good. The players seem to have almost an elitist attitude about themselves...an attitude fostered by Keenan's relentless pursuit of excellence in everything connected with his players, whether it be carefully monitored aerobic training sessions, pristeen locker room conditions, or the chartered jet that ferries his club to road games. The Blues players, by and large, believe in Keenan...and that bodes well for St. Louis as they enter this year's Stanley Cup playoffs.
My prediction--Blues in five.
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News & Notes
By Randy Karraker- St.Louis Sports.com
It was a rather dismal week for St. Louis sports fans, as the Blues dropped games two and three of their playoff series with Vancouver, and the Cardinals displayed a striking resemblance to last year's fiasco.
First the Blues. Brendan Shanahan has had an up-and-down playoff series. This has been Shanahan's Modus Operandi since joining the Blues. Even during his best seasons, his playoff performances have been less than stellar. If anyone should rise to the occasion during the playoffs, it is Shanahan, whom I consider the John Wayne of hockey. Quite simply, when the Blues power forward plays his game (as he did Saturday night in Game 4, scoring three goals in the game's second period), the Blues win. If the Blues get knocked out in the first round, Shanahan will find himself on the trading block this summer. Curtis Joseph can't be absolved of blame. He has allowed too many soft goals to be a playoff success. Cujo, if you recall, has not been the same since former goalie coach Wayne Thomas left for San Jose after the '93 season. Again, don't be surprised if the Blues make a pitch for Edmonton's Bill Ranford this off-season, and move Joseph. Brett Hull has been scoring...but what about his defense? Hull's playoff plus-minus rating has been abysmal in three games, -3. He's been joined by Al MacInnis and Steve Duchesne at -2, and defensive whiz Esa Tikkanen at -5. Was Keenan right? Have the Blues veterans grown so used to low expectations, that they can't adjust to giving what it takes to win? We'll find out this week.
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Western Conference Quarterfinals
Summarized from PBFC newsletter
Canucks beat St.Louis 4-3
- May 7: Game 1 in St.Louis (2-1 Loss)
- Blues have six power play opportunities in the first period and build a 2-0 lead.
(Goals: Bure)
- May 9: Game 2 in St.Louis (5-3 Win)
- Canucks struggle back from an early 2-0 deficit as Russ Courtnall notches a goal and three assists. Coach Mike Keenan pulls goaltender Curtis Joseph at midway point of the third period after Pavel Bure moves in alone and scores the winner on a brilliant deke.
(Goals: Momesso, Babych, Lumme, R. Courtnall, Bure).
- May 11: Game 3 in Vancouver (6-1 Win)
- Canuck special teams score four power play and one short-handed goal while stopping the Blues on five extra-man situations. Jeff Brown and Brett Hedican are both injured, and the Canucks play the final 30 minutes with just four defencemen.
(Goals: Lumme, G. Courtnall, Babych, Momesso-2, Linden).
- May 13: Game 4 in Vancouver (5-2 Loss)
- Canucks open scoring on a power-play goal by Pavel Bure then add a short-handed marker by Russ Courtnall, but are eventually done in by Brendan Shanahan's natural hat-trick.
(Goals: Bure, R. Courtnall).
- May 15: Game 5 in St.Louis (6-5 Win)
- Canucks give up one-goal leads three times and a two-goal lead once, before Cliff Ronning scores the winnner in OT.
(Goals: Bure, Ruuttu, G. Courtnall, Beranek, Ronning-2).
- May 17: Game 6 in Vancouver (8-2 Loss)
- A real stinker as the Canucks fall behind 2-0 after the first period and 6-2 after the second. Brett Hull and Esa Tikhanen each score a pair and Canuck goalter Kirk McLean is yanked in favor of Kay Whitmore in the third period.
(Goals: G. Courtnall, Bure).
- May 19: Game 7 in St.Louis (5-3 Win)
- Canucks advance to the second round of the play-offs by eliminating the Blues in convincing fashion. The Canucks are outshot 41-17 but goaltender Kirk McLean rebounds from the Game 6 stinker, playing brilliantly, especially in the second period, when he turns aside 25 shots. Short-handed goal by Pavel Bure in the first period is an NHL record-tying sixth short-handed goal of the series for the Canucks.
(Goals: Aucoin, Bure-2, G. Courtnall, Ronning).
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News & Notes
By Randy Karraker- St.Louis Sports.com
The Blues ouster from the playoffs came as a surprise to many, because of their outstanding regular season...but they proved to us once again...there's the regular NHL season, and then the real season...the playoffs. Coach and General Manager Mike Keenan got an opportunity to see his troops under pressure...and obviously didn't like what he saw. Goalie Curtis Joseph was mostly awful during the seven game series. Top defenseman Al MacInnis, who claimed he was healthy, struggled mightily, as did Steve Duchesne. Forward Brendan Shanahan was invisible for the first three games before catching fire, but he was injured in game five. Esa Tikkanen did nothing in six of the seven games. Brett Hull scored six goals, but was an element of a power play unit that allowed a playoff series record six shorthanded goals.
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Blues News
By Randy Karraker- St.Louis Sports.com
The Blues loss to Vancouver in the first round of the NHL playoffs was devastating to two players who talked with a few straggling media long after Game 7 ended.
Curtis Joseph, whose downcast expression was far more revealing than his quiet words, seemed to be in shock a full hour after the game had ended. Joseph said that he was "in a state of disbelief" about the outcome of the series and Game 7. "Obviously, I wish things had gone differently," he whispered to a small group of reporters. He then added that "It hurts so much right now"...and when a questioner (from St. Louis' Channel 2) asked Joseph whether the issue of his unresolved contract status affected his play, Joseph said "I'm not gonna answer contract-related questions." When the thoughtless Channel 2 guy persisted by asking Joseph about his status for the upcoming season, Joseph quietly but forcefully repeated his previous statement about contract questions, and the interview was over.
Several minutes later, Brendan Shanahan entered the locker room on crutches. His comments to the media were as brief as Joseph's, and just as somber. When asked about his injury, Shanahan said "I had surgery yesterday...two screws were inserted into my tibia. I broke my leg."
When asked about his overall play, Shanahan said "I felt good late in the season...I think I showed Mike [Keenan] about my desire and that the old me was back. I felt strong."
Shanahan was then asked about his injury. He said "I have about three weeks on these crutches, and in six weeks I'll be better."
It appeared to this reporter that Shanahan's eyes began to tear up as he was describing his season and his injury. The air was thick...and the Blues skilled tough guy was showing once again why he is one of the Blues most popular players.
It was only a feeling, but it seemed that if Gino Odjick had, at that moment, appeared in the locker room, that Shanahan would have tried to knock Odjick's block off. Odjick's bare-chested dancing after threatening a few Blues late in Game 6...surely Shanahan felt that things would have been different had he not been injured.
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Vancouver PLAYOFF GAME 7
By Randy Karraker- St.Louis Sports.com
The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Blues 5-3 in Game Seven of their playoff series and thus advanced to play the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference semifinals.
The game began with early Blues pressure, pressure that the Canucks were able to repel.
Vancouver's first goal came at 8:35 of the opening period when Adrian Aucoin scored his first career playoff goal on a slapshot from the center point. The goal came while Craig Johnson (who replaced Glenn Anderson in the lineup) was in the penalty box, serving two minutes for hooking.
Pavel Bure then scored yet another shorthanded goal when he broke in all alone on Curtis Joseph, and beat the Blues goalie with a slick tap-in from the forehand side. Joseph, like most of the world's goalies, was unable to read the Russian Rocket's many moves.
But just over a minute later, Basil McRae cut the deficit in half when his wraparound shot beat Kirk McLean. The goal was McRae's second of the playoffs.
But the Canucks reestablished their two goal lead, when, while on the power play, Geoff Courtnall pounded on the rebound of a Jeff Brown shot and lifted the puck over a fallen Joseph. The period ended with Vancouver ahead 3-1, despite being outshot by St. Louis 14-9.
Both teams scored a single goal in the game's second period. Cliff Ronning's third of the playoffs made the score 4-1 in favor of Vancouver, and came as a result of a poor clearing attempt by Joseph. The Blues tally came when Ian Laperriere's pass from behind the net found Denis Chasse all alone in front of McLean. Chasse's first of the playoffs beat McLean, and the Blues had over 32 minutes remaining to score two goals and tie the game. The Blues seemed well on their way to doing just that as they outshot the Canucks 25-7 in the second period.
But the Canucks seemed to change their style in the third period, going to a more defensive-oriented scheme that limited the Blues to only five shots on goal. At 15:25, Brett Hull's shot from the slot beat McLean on the glove side. The goal made the score 4-3, and gave the crowd and the Blues some hope for the tying goal.
But the Blues mounted little offensive pressure for the balance of the game, and Pavel Bure scored an empty net goal at 19:38 to seal the victory for Vancouver.
For the game, the Blues outshot Vancouver 44-22. But the Canucks outscored the Blues 5-3, and thus won the series four games to three.
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Western Conference Semifinals
Summarized from PBFC newsletter
Canucks lose to Chicago 4-0
- May 21: Game 1 in Chicago (2-1 Loss)
- Both teams play at low energy levels, suffering from exhausting seven game first-round series. Captain Trevor Linden opens the scoring for the Canucks with 19 seconds left in the second period. Hawks tie game in the third period on a goal by Denis Savard, then Joe Murphy scores the winner with Russ Courtnall in th epenalty box for tripping Chris Chelios.
(Goals: Linden).
- May 23: Game 2 in Chicago (2-0 Loss)
- With the Hawks leading 1-0, Pavel Bure scores tying marker, but the goal is diallowed as referee Paul Stewart rules Trevor Linden is in the crease. Dave Poulin scores early in the third period and Phhhtt! Canucks are down two-games-to-none in the series. (Goals: none).
- May 25: Game 3 in Vancouver (3-2 Loss)
- Canucks finally manage to score, but not enough as former Canuck Murray Craven scores a controversial Hawk goal to tie the game with 45 seconds left. Controversey arises when Craven scores while planted squarely in the crease. A similar goal was disallowed by Trevor Linden in Game 2.
(Goals: R. Courtnall-2).
- May 27: Game 4 in Vancouver (4-3 Loss)
- It's the third OT game of the series and fourth straight victory for the Hawks as Chris Chelios ends a seesaw battle with the winning goal at 5:35 of OT.
(Goals: Brown, Oksiuta-2).
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Bure not at home around obsessive fans
Sitting alone on the boards at the Kiel Centre in St.Louis one afternoon during the play-offs, Pavel Bure was in an unusually contemplative mood.
Rather than giving the traditional five-word answers to any and all questions, anxious to get away, he decided to spend some time on the responses, giving much more of himself than he often does.
What you find is a really likeable person inside, trying to fight through an admitted profound nervousness around strangers.
"I don't like to go out by myself at all, I always like to have friends around me here in North America", says the best player ever to wear a Canucks uniform.
"I feel very nervous when I am by myself around people here. In Russia I went out alone all the time of course, but here I don't like it. Even when I go out to the grocery store I like to have someone with me".
"In four years since I've been to Vancouver, I've never been out to dinner by myslef. I'm not scared of anything, but I'm just not comfortable out by myself. I like to have someone with me when I go out, whether it's my mother or father or a friend".
Naturally, when he goes out anywhere in Vancouver he's mobbed by autograph seekers and when confronted about his often disinterested response, he admits he needs improvement.
"Maybe I should change and put in more effort", he says when it's pointed out meeting him is often a big event in a kid's or even some adults' lives.
"But the first year I was in Vancouver I spent sometimes two hours after every game signing, I really did. I tried to sign them all. But now at the rink all I get are the same people day after day after my autograph and you can tell they are probably selling them".
"I don't think that's right. And after games, I am tired and I want to get some rest. I always try to sign when new kids come up to me, but maybe I should try to be more friendly".
Having broken up with his latest girlfriend, Bure is living by himself so he does spend a consdierable amount of time alone.
He now admits the marriage to the woman he met at the GoodwillGames in Seattle in 1989 was one of convenience and was never consummated, although he prefers not to go into detail saying, "Somebody thought it would help with getting me over here to play but it didn't make any difference".
And as far as female companionship goes, he has some interesting observations regarding some of the women he meets in situations most can only imagine.
"The girls you meet who offer to do everything for you are just crazy", he says. "They have to respect themselves and I can't respect girls like that. They embarass themselves".
"The young ones I don't mind, they don't know what they're doing. They're OK. But the ones who should know better ... so what if I play hockey? What does it matter? It doesn't make me a better person any more so than a normal guy."
"I'm not really looking to meet anyone right away, and I don't know what kind of girl I really want to meet. I guess I'll know the right person when I meet her".
"You have to know that I'm a much different person in private than I am in public. With my friends I'm not so quiet and I can relax and have a good time".
"But I always felt when I came to the rink, it should be serious .. I come here for work and I always thought it should be that way".
Bure says he doesn't want to be more forthcoming about himself because he feels when he stops scoring or has a slump, it will be used against him and he'll be rediculed.
And clearly the time he and his father were clearly open about their earlier relationship, the resulting coverage was embarrassing.
The best example I can give is last year when I scored 60 goals. I was a big star and everyone was saying nice things".
"Then when I don't score in the play-offs against Calgary in the first week, everyone is saying I'm a bad player and I'm soft and I can't play in the play-offs".
"In one week, everything turned around completely. Then I said to myself, 'You see, you've got to be careful now what you say', because I won't always be so great and what will they say about me then if I say all what I like and think?"
"Maybe at the start of the season I should have been working harder, but the first guy who is disappointed in my palay when I don't do well is me, not the coach, the media, the fans, or management, but me. I care and I always try to do my best".
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