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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -- Pavel Bure waited 19 months to play his
former team, the Vancouver Canucks. He'll have to wait at least
another year to beat them.
|  | | Panthers goalie Trevor Kidd was given the starting nod, but he lost for the eighth time in his last nine starts. |
Vancouver scored three first-period goals -- including Donald
Brashear's first since Marty McSorley hit him in the head with a
stick eight months ago -- and Ed Jovanovski added a fourth 2:20 into
overtime to beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 Friday night.
"We weren't doing much out there in the first period,"
Panthers coach Terry Murray said. "We had a lot of real stupid
mistakes. We weren't skating. I don't want to say it's
opening-night jitters. We're professionals. We've got to be ready
to play the game."
Bure had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who now might
have another goalie controversy. Trevor Kidd lost for the eighth
time in his last nine starts. Kidd and Mike Vernon split playing
time for part of last season.
With Vernon gone, Kidd was named the starter this week despite
being outplayed by newcomer Roberto Luongo in the preseason.
Luongo, taken with the fourth pick by the New York Islanders in
the 1997 draft, went 3-0-1 in the preseason. He allowed three goals
in four games and posted two shutouts. Kidd went 1-2-0 and gave up
11 goals in five games.
He also struggled Friday.
"A couple of the goals were right under the bar," Kidd said.
"But we still got off to a slow start and got behind the eight
ball. We just came out flat. There's no real excuse for it. There
was no energy on the bench and on the ice. Maybe this is what we
needed -- an early wakeup call."
The Canucks scored three goals in the opening period -- one off a
turnover, one on a power play and another at even strength.
"We were very deserving of the win tonight," Vancouver coach
Marc Crawford said. "We fought through a tremendous amount of
adversity with getting in late last night and playing a team with a
lot of emotion at the start of the game."
Andrew Cassels picked off Robert Svehla's centering pass and
slapped it past Kidd from just outside the left circle at the 1:23
mark. Todd Bertuzzi gave Vancouver a 2-0 lead with a slap shot from
the right circle at 10:37.
Brashear capped the first-period scoring with a one-timer from
the right circle.
Brashear's goal came on the same day McSorley was found guilty,
in a Vancouver, British Columbia court, of assault with a weapon.
But McSorley won't be sent to jail for his two-fisted stick attack
Feb. 21 that knocked Brashear to the ice, giving him a concussion
and causing memory lapses.
"I was kind of hoping to get the first goal out of the way in
the first couple of games of the year," Brashear said. "It was
nice to get it tonight. I'm the enforcer here, but I like to get my
share of points."
So does Bure, who led the league with 58 goals last season.
Bure scored the Panthers' first goal, ripping a one-timer past
Bob Essensa from just inside the blue line. He added an assist in
the third, setting up Igor Larionov's putback with 15:48 to play.
Jaroslav Spacek tied it with 4:43 to play, beating Essensa with
a slap shot from the slot.
Bure spent the first seven years of his career with Vancouver,
but held out most of the 1998-99 season before being traded to
Florida. He was injured for both meetings against the Canucks last
season.
The teams don't play again this season.
"It was the first game of the season, so I got really
excited," Bure said, downplaying the matchup against his former
team. "It didn't matter who we were playing. Now we have to play
better."
Game notes
Seven players have scored for Vancouver in two games. ...
Bure was penalized four times for eight minutes. He logged 16
penalty minutes in 74 games last season. ... The Canucks held
Florida to 1-of-8 on power plays. They gave up three power-play
goals Thursday against Philadelphia.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
Florida Clubhouse
Kidd edges kid, barely, as Panthers' goalie
RECAPS
New Jersey 8
Montreal 4
Los Angeles 4
Washington 1
Vancouver 4
Florida 3
NY Islanders 3
Tampa Bay 3
Edmonton 2
Detroit 1
Anaheim 3
Minnesota 1
St. Louis 4
San Jose 1
Nashville 3
Pittsburgh 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Pavel Bure scores on his old team for the first time.
avi: 874 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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