Pavel Bure's first full season with the Rangers could be a short one.

	Bure

The right wing, one of the most prolific scorers in the NHL, underwent an MRI exam Saturday and the Rangers placed him on injured reserve.

Team spokesman John Rosasco said Sunday the test showed torn cartilage and a sprain of the medial collateral ligament. He added the test for damage to the anterior cruciate ligament was inconclusive.

"We were hoping for the best but we expected the worst," a Rangers official told the Daily News. "These doctors are rarely wrong with their initial diagnoses on these things."

The newspaper also reported that Bure will need surgery, but the team said the date of the arthroscopic procedure will not be set until swelling in the knee subsides. Doctors will be able to better assess the damage to the ACL during the operation. Bure has had two major reconstructive operations on his right knee.

"They have to wait until my knee settles down a little and the swelling goes down,'' Bure said after Boston beat New York 4-1 Sunday. "After that, they will schedule the surgery.''

He was hurt Friday night in the Rangers' 4-1 loss to Buffalo. He knocked knees with the Sabres' Curtis Brown midway through the game and fell as his left leg collapsed. Bure struggled to make it to the bench.

"I knew something was wrong with my knee right away as soon as I went down,'' Bure said. "I'll have to see what the doctors think it is exactly.''

Bure has 14 goals this season, tops on the Rangers. He had started to pick up the pace with five goals in the three games before the injury. Bure has scored 50 or more goals five times in his career

"When we traded for Pavel last year it brought a lot of hope to the organization, to the players, the fans and the city. Not many players can play the game like Pavel,'' Rangers star Mark Messier said.

"Not many can do what he can do. All we can do is wait and see how bad the injury is,'' he added. "We'll deal with that and hopefully he'll be back for some part of the season.''

"It's unfortunate, no question about it, because we felt we had something going on," Rangers teammate Petr Nedved told the Daily News.

Bure joins a growing list of prominent Rangers on injured reserve. Defenseman Brian Leetch bruised his ankle Tuesday and goalie Mike Richter has been out since a concussion Nov. 5.

Now, the Rangers have to come up with another plan to keep climbing back into the playoff hunt after a 4-8-2 start. New York had gone 8-5-2-1 to get back to .500 before falling apart against Buffalo the minute Bure got hurt.

"It's tough to take," winger Matthew Barnaby -- also out with an injury -- told the Daily News. "Just as things are starting to roll and everything is coming together, we start going down, one after another."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.