Lengthy rehab gets frustrating
BY DAVID J. NEAL 

LOS ANGELES -- Goal line to blue line, goal line to red line, goal line to opposite blue line, goal line to goal line . . . Valeri Bure's right knee withstood a morning skate that drained him into nearly falling onto the Staples Center's visitors bench. 

But the knee still isn't ready to withstand the rigors of a game. 

``I'm still going to feel [twinges in the knee], but it's not going to affect my play,'' Bure said. ``I'm going to be out there competing. Right now, I don't feel like I can get into the stuff and get dirty. But I've been testing the last couple of practices, and it's been holding on really well. 

``Sometimes, it feels like it doesn't improve that much,'' he said. ``But if you look two weeks ago, I skated well but I couldn't shoot the puck. Now I feel I can shoot the puck well, and it doesn't hurt me a bit.'' 

The prognosis when Bure had surgery on Oct. 19 to repair torn cartilage was eight to 12 weeks. This Friday's game against Anaheim will be the 11-week mark. Aside from the offseason, Bure can't remember the last time he went so long without playing. 

Now, he's getting antsy. 

``I think it's even more frustrating now when you get so close and you're waiting like, `When? When? When?' rather than when my surgery happened,'' Bure said. ``You're frustrated, but you've got a couple of months ahead of you.'' 

You're also not showing up at home games to work out while the team plays. You're not on road trips taking the nearly empty second team bus from morning skates with the other scratches after a 90-minute practice that ends with torturous stop-and-start skate drills. 

``I'm anxious,'' Bure said. `` `OK, I'm going to go,' but then I have to pull myself back and say, `I waited over two months. I have to make sure it's healed before I step out.' I'd rather take another week or so.'' 

He isn't willing to be so careful about using a knee brace. After his first practice with a brace, Bure kicked it off with ``I hate this brace!'' 

Succeeding braces have gotten a similar review. 

``The best brace is muscle,'' Bure said. ``You've got to build your own. I was not too comfortable with a brace, so I kind of go without.''