Pavel Bure's Top 10 Goals as a Canuck (honourable mentions)

Today's post is the second in a 10-day series chronicling Pavel Bure's career in anticipation of his jersey retirement on November 2.

As mentioned in yesterday's countdown featuring Pavel Bure's top ten goals as a Canuck, it is nearly impossible to isolate any number of the Russian Rocket's goals as 'the best'. Ten is just far too little.

So with that in mind, here are a few more of Bure's endless highlight reel efforts -- infused with the usual slapdash of trivia and facts -- that didn't quite make the cut:

First NHL goal vs. Los Angeles (November 12, 1991)



In order to score 437 goals in the NHL, you need to start somewhere and it seems like poetic justice that Bure's first was scored on a breakaway (somewhat). The only reason this goal wasn't included in yesterday's top ten was because I had decided that so many of the goals we see from Bure aren't given proper credit for how big they were for the Canucks as a team (ie. most of the goals in yesterday's countdown occurred in the playoffs).

Honourable mention it is, then. And for trivia fans -- the Kings goalie you see Bure victimizing here is six-year veteran Daniel Berthiaume. 8-2 win for Vancouver.

Bure's 60th goal vs. Anaheim (April 13, 1994)



Again, this goal had more significant implications for Bure's personal statistics than the Canucks as a team. And for that reason, I'll commemorate it here instead. Scoring at full speed against Guy Hebert, the Russian Rocket became just the eighth player in league history to record back-to-back 60-goal seasons.

At mid-season, however, the feat wasn't even on Bure's radar thanks in large part to a groin injury that sidelined him for eight games in November. With a month-and-a-half left on the schedule, Bure had just 36 goals. In the remaining 23 games, he went on a mind-boggling 24-goal tear, including two hat trick and an 8-game scoring streak.

Since Bure's back-to-back 60-goal seasons, only four players have accomplished the plateau since -- Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Alexander Ovechkin and Steve Stamkos.

Game 3 breakaway goal vs. New York (June 4, 1994)




This goal had the makings of being something truly great -- and it was...for the better part of the first period. The Canucks had come back from New York with an improbable split. With the crowd already riding the high of the first Finals game in Vancouver since 1982, Bure scored on his first shift on a lead pass from Trevor Linden. By the end of the period, however, Bure had been kicked out of the game for a high stick against Jay Wells and the Rangers were en route to a 5-1 rout.

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As you should have imagined, the list of Bure goals both dripping with talent and saddled with significant back stories is endless. So for an indefinite amount of honourable mentions, please see any of the following videos by YouTube luminary Makavelli at the bottom of the post.

And remember to keep checking back for more on Bure's career with November 2 just nine days away!

-HC

Follow @BuresTripleDeke

See the other posts in the Bure series:
Oct 24 Pavel Bure's Top 10 Goals as a Vancouver Canuck
Oct 26 Bure, Ovechkin and other All-Star voting fallacies
Oct 27 The staying power of Bure's 60-goal record
Oct 28 Pavel Bure and the progression of the Canucks' point-scoring record
Oct 29 The Bures, the Sedins and fraternal scoring supremacy
Oct 31 The long-term implications of Bure to Florida