By Michael Russo

Valeri Bure knows his brother better than pretty much anyone. But he's not about to keep explaining that no matter what you've heard, Pavel really is a good person.

"I know my brother well. His friends know him well. We know what kind of guy he is, and that's all that matters," Bure said during the Rangers' 4-2 win over the Panthers on Saturday, a game in which his older brother scored a goal and assisted on two.

Bure, who is recovering from season-ending knee surgery, said he wasn't bothered by the criticism a few teammates placed on his brother after he was traded to New York on March 18.

"I don't really care what everybody else says because I'm the same kind of person like my brother," Bure said. "I don't like to go and explain to everybody what kind of guy I am. You either like me or you don't. I think my brother's the same kind of guy."

Bure said Pavel wasn't bothered either by what teammates said. "He's private," Bure said. "He's not going to let you into his world. People do respect that. I don't want to explain he's a great guy. I don't think I have to. I love my brother, and I know what he's like and his friends do too.

"This is what you get when you have such a high-profile person. He's one of the best players in the NHL and he deserves to be talked about. He's been through everything. I've been through it many times when somebody said something, and he's been through it more than me. This isn't the first and it's not going to be the last."

Bure said he cherishes the short time he got to play with Pavel. Because an earlier knee injury had cost him 37 games, he played in only 26 games with Pavel. The team went 5-14-5-2, but the two combined for 18 goals and 20 assists.

Bure's best memory was when he assisted on Pavel's 400th goal in Boston.

"The Florida Panthers traded for me to get me here to play with my brother," Bure said. "I couldn't have enjoyed it more. I think he's the best player that the Panthers had and maybe will ever have. Looking back, it was nothing but positive for me."

Despite what some teammates had said about Pavel, "I don't think it'll be such a hard thing for me going back [into the locker room]," Bure said. "First of all, I won't be playing again this season, and then who knows what's going to happen in the summer? I still think there's going to be a lot of changes, and it'll be a completely different team next season. So we'll see what happens."

In the meantime, Bure is recuperating from surgery. His right knee didn't respond properly from his first surgery, so this time he went to Birmingham, Ala., where he was operated on by orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, who had reconstructed Pavel's right knee for the second time in 1999.

"My knee just never healed the first time," Valeri said. "We just didn't know which way it would go. Sometimes you just play with it and it doesn't bother you. For me, it was just getting worse and worse and I said I can't go anymore."

Bure was playing his best hockey for two or three weeks before the injury ended his season.

"I was starting to enjoy playing again and then I was like, What else could go wrong this year?" Bure said.