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| Sunday, February 6 | |||||
TORONTO -- Candace Cameron knows that for obvious reasons, women in the final weeks of pregnancy are encouraged to stay off airplanes.
But the former TV sitcom star, due to give birth in two weeks, still took a five-hour flight from Los Angeles to Toronto on Friday. She simply had to see her husband, Calgary Flames right winger Valeri Bure, compete in his first NHL All-Star Game -- and get a rare opportunity to play with his older brother, Pavel.
Even if the Bures' second child waits a little while to be born, this is still a momentous weekend for the family. Valeri will join his older brother, Florida Panthers winger Pavel Bure, on the World All-Star team -- and coach Scotty Bowman said he plans to play the brothers on the same line at some point. Valeri and Pavel will become the 12th pair of brothers to play in the same All-Star Game and the eighth to play on the same team. "For sure, this one is the most special All-Star game for me," Pavel said. "I'm really happy that he deserved to be here. To play together is going to be great." The brothers have played together on Russian national teams, but they have never been on the same line. Though their careers have taken them to opposite ends of North America, the brothers remain close, speaking by phone nearly every day. "We're not really competitive with each other now," Valeri said. "We like to see each other do well. We've grown up and realize how hard it is to play in this league, so we support each other." The Bure brothers are well on their way to another NHL rarity. They could become the third brothers to lead their respective teams in scoring in the same season. Only Dennis and Bryan Hextall (1970-71) and Neal and Aaron Broten (1982-83) have done it before. Valeri, 25, is on the way to the best season of his career. He leads the Flames with 52 points and has become the team's offensive catalyst, though he's more of a two-way player than his 28-year-old brother. In perhaps the best measure of Pavel's remarkable first full season in Florida, both of his semi-regular linemates, Viktor Kozlov and Ray Whitney, are All-Stars as well. With 61 points in 44 games, Pavel is third in the league in scoring at the All-Star break. He leads the NHL with 37 goals -- a league-best nine of them game-winners -- and is second only to Jaromir Jagr in points per game. At times, the Bures' brotherhood seems to be their only link. Valeri is a self-described homebody who wants a big family with Cameron, while Pavel enjoys the nightlife of Miami and the notoriety of his much-rumored dalliance with tennis star Anna Kournikova. Valeri has a hospital bed reserved for his wife in Toronto just in case an unexpected delivery becomes necessary, and the family doctor -- a big hockey fan -- is attending the game. Pavel and Valeri joined their mother, Cameron and other family members for dinner Friday night in Toronto. In a hectic NHL season, it was a rare opportunity for everyone to be together. "We had a very good evening," Pavel said. "It was nice to be with family." |