David J.Neal
Maybe it was imagination spurred by the knowledge of Pavel Bure's ice time Wednesday, but the Panthers' star right wing looked more pooped than usual Thursday. Enhancing the aura of fatigue was the way Bure reclined on a locker-room bench as if it were a chaise lounge while chatting with reporters, instead of standing against the bulletin board. 

It's not as if he doesn't have reason. Bure leads all NHL forwards in ice time with an average of 26:07. He has logged more than 30 minutes in each of the past six games, peaking with Wednesday's 40:12 -- this season's NHL high. In his first 62 games, he averaged 25:20. 

Asked if Wednesday's time was a career high, Bure laughed, ``I guess so. Maybe I played that much in junior [leagues].'' 

Lately, Bure has not only been double-shifted, but has played back-to-back even-strength shifts. Not that he hasn't gone back-to-back before -- it's standard for him on the power play -- but at even strength, it usually means he's working unauthorized overtime. 

Bure got some much-needed rest Thursday. 

``You still have to practice because that's where you do your coverages,'' Bure said. ``I would say what's different is probably that, before, I would do some stuff after practice. Errands. Now, I'm kind of tired, so I go home and get ready for the game.'' 

Panthers coach Duane Sutter said Bure, like defenseman Robert Svehla, eschews skipping practices and pregame skates to rest. Generally, they have to be sick. In January, at Washington, Svehla took a morning skate off when ordered to do so. 

Bure said he can feel the difference between 17 or 18 minutes a game and 27 minutes. But it all feels the same during the game, he said. 

After a normal game, Bure said, ``Your body is dead, but your mind isn't. Your body is so tired that you can't watch TV, you can't read . . . you can't sleep.'' 

Bure eats around 1:30 a.m., then takes half of a sleeping pill to help him fall asleep by 2 so he can get seven hours of rest. Back in his days as a Vancouver Canuck -- before he discovered sleeping pills -- he would stay up until 4 a.m. and be terribly haggard the next day. 

Bure handles his ice time better than most because, as Sutter said, ``He conserves energy.'' 
Cynics might point out that Bure avoids contact as if every opposing player is contagious, and can stand or coast through a good portion of a shift. Sutter said Bure's anticipation and speed allow him more time at rest during a shift than other players can afford. 

Few star players are at war every second on the ice. 

``Mario [Lemieux] doesn't battle all the time. [Jaromir] Jagr doesn't battle all the time,'' Sutter said of the Penguins stars. 

Bure's recent jump in ice time may be viewed with two kinds of practicality. The first says the Panthers (17-33-10-8) are realistically out of the playoff race, so why not try to get Bure -- who has an NHL-best 45 goals -- his second consecutive Maurice Richard Trophy? 

Sutter denies the idea is affecting his decisions: ``If he wins it, great. If our fans think that, they should be happy. They get to see one of the best goal scorers in the league.'' 

Bure, though, believes the theory has some merit: ``Most of the guys are helping me, the coaches are helping me. I don't know if we can still make the playoffs. I know the guys have tried to get me the puck.'' 

As Bure points out, you can't score from the bench. Interestingly, the forward ranked second in ice time, Pittsburgh's Alexei Kovalev, was second to Bure in goal scoring (40) going into Thursday's games. 
Sutter said injuries to skill players such as Ray Whitney and Denis Shvidki have narrowed his options. That's the second kind of practicality -- when Bure is in the groove, you would rather have him in his 23rd minute than a minor-league call-up or rookie in his 10th. 

Not that Bure has griped. ``No,'' he laughed. ``I've complained about not enough ice time.''