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ATLANTA (AP) – The Florida Panthers were ripe for a meltdown.
Then Pavel Bure took control.
Firing shots from all angles, the Russian Rocket scored four
goals for the third time in his career, helping the Panthers
overcome an early two-goal deficit for a 7-3 victory over the
Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday night.
|  | | Rob Niedermayer didn't score on Milan Hnilicka, but he notched three assists in the Panthers' win over the Thrashers. |
The previous night, Florida lost 4-2 at home to the New York
Rangers, then learned after the game that captain Scott Mellanby
had been traded.
When the Thrashers scored two goals before the game was 10
minutes old, the Panthers seemed on a verge of a total collapse.
Bure wouldn't let them.
"We came back and it's a great sign," said Bure, who had 14 of
Florida's season-high 42 shots. "We are turning things around."
Bure began the night tied for second in the NHL with 31 goals,
one behind Washington's Peter Bondra. He went to the front of the
pack with the third four-goal performance of his career.
Bure's last four-goal game was Jan. 1, 2000, against Tampa Bay.
"I had so many chances," he said. "I'm trying to shoot as
much as I can."
The Panthers rallied for a 2-2 tie by the end of the first, then
went ahead for good when Dan Boyle and Bure scored just 20 seconds
apart near the midway point of the second.
Bure scored two more goals in the third to ice Florida's fourth
victory in six games – the first since Mellanby, an original member
of the team and captain for the last four years, was traded to the
St. Louis Blues.
"We were all sad to see Mellanby go," Bure said. "He's a
great guy and I really enjoyed playing with him. But it's a good
opportunity for him. He can go to St. Louis and have a chance to
win the Stanley Cup."
The Thrashers, coming off a 5-1 victory over Boston on Friday,
failed to put together their first winning streak since late
December.
Coach Curt Fraser conceded it was a mistake to start Milan
Hnilicka in goal instead of Damian Rhodes, who had a strong
performance against the Bruins.
Hnilicka gave up a couple of soft goals and was replaced by
Rhodes at the beginning of the third period.
"We've given guys 10th and 12th chances to prove they can help
this hockey club," Fraser said. "Milan is a kid who's just
getting started. He hasn't played well in a month and a half. We
have to give him a chance to get out of it."
Bure scored his first goal with 3½ minutes left in the first,
taking a pass in front from Marcus Nilson after Atlanta gave up the
puck behind the net.
Boyle put the Panthers ahead with an uncustomary rush from his
defense position. He got around Atlanta defenseman Andrei
Skopintsev, deked Hnilicka to the ice and wrapped the puck around
the fallen goalie.
Twenty seconds later, Bure sneaked behind the Atlanta defense,
took a pass from Rob Niedermayer at center ice and beat Hnilicka
with a shot between the pads on a breakaway to give the Panthers a
4-2 lead.
Bure iced the game about six minutes into the third when he
rushed in from left wing, wound up for a slap shot, then changed up
with a wrist shot that fooled Rhodes.
Three minutes later, Bure knocked the puck past Rhodes again,
sparking some chippy play from the Thrashers. Ladislav Kohn
received a game misconduct for knocking Anders Eriksson into the
boards from behind.
"When you give up soft goals, it makes it really hard on our
hockey club," Fraser said. "It's the domino effect. It gets
worse."
Hnilicka was replaced after he gave up a strange goal late in
the second period. He went behind the net to play the puck, only to
have it bounce in front of the unprotected net.
Atlanta defenseman Brett Clark swiped the puck toward the
boards, Mike Sillinger sent it back at the net and it somehow got
past Hnilicka, who had returned to the crease.
Florida's Trevor Kidd also surrendered an unusual goal to Per
Svartvadet, who scored from behind the net by flipping the puck off
Kidd's left leg while he was sprawled on the ice.
Game notes
Atlanta defenseman Yannick Tremblay popped his right
shoulder out of joint in the first period, returned to the ice and
was hurt again. He'll be out a week to 10 days. ... Thrashers
winger Dean Sylvester put on a visor after suffering a corneal
abrasion to his right eye. ... Florida winger Ray Whitney did not
make the trip after hurting his back late in a Friday night loss to
the New York Rangers. The team isn't sure about the seriousness of
the injury.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Florida Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
RECAPS
Pittsburgh 5
New Jersey 4
Florida 7
Atlanta 3
Boston 6
Tampa Bay 2
Montreal 5
NY Islanders 3
Buffalo 2
Ottawa 1
Detroit 3
Toronto 3
Columbus 3
Nashville 2
St. Louis 4
Colorado 3
Calgary 4
Vancouver 1
Washington 4
Los Angeles 3
San Jose 3
Chicago 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Pavel Bure scores 4 goals in the Panthers 7-3 victory.
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