Classic Rewind: Bure Picks up 300th Career Goal in OT Win Over Boston

Pavel Bure penned quite a few chapters of his Hall of Fame resumé with the Florida Panthers.

But with this one moment in particular, he ended the contest with a powerful exclamation mark.

Setting a new single-season franchise record for goals in a season in the process, the Russian Rocket tallied the 300th and 301st goals of his career to help lead the Panthers to a 4-3 overtime win over the Boston Bruins at National Car Rental Center (now BB&T Center) on Jan. 22, 2000.

"Anyone who gets 300 goals nowadays is something special," Panthers forward Ray Whitney told the South Florida Sun Sentinel after the win. "But even better, he got 301 for us."

As part of their "Panthers Rewind" series, FOX Sports Florida re-aired the game on Thursday.

Playing in front of a crowd of 18,423 - the largest the Panthers had seen up until that point of the 1999-00 season - Bure's first goal came at 3:47 of the second period. Taking a cross-ice pass from Viktor Kozlov, he sent the puck past goaltender Byron Dafoe to put Florida up 2-1.

In picking up his 33rd goal of the season, Bure broke a tie with Scott Mellanby and Ray Whitney for the franchise's single-season record. Finishing with 58 goals, he would go on to capture his first of two consecutive Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophies as the top goal-scorer in the league.

In 2000-01, he posted 59 goals, which still stands as the franchise's single-season record.

"Pavel draws so much attention from everybody," Whitney said.

Once the game got to overtime, Bure made quick work of the Bruins. Burying a rebound after a shot from Kozlov, he lit the lamp just 1:31 into the extra frame to give the Panthers a 4-3 victory.

Kozlov, who recorded 53 assists that season, provided the helpers on both of Bure's goals.

"I remember Viktor was a great player and was really popular in South Florida," Bure told FOX Sports Florida's Randy Moller during a recent interview. "He was doing really well for the team. For me, it was always a pleasure to play with him because he passed the puck well and was a big, strong guy. It was fun."

With the win, the Cats not only snapped Boston's five-game winning streak, but also improved to 6-1-1 over their last eight games. Florida would go on to finish with a 43-27-6-6 record that season, earning a spot in the playoffs and clinching the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.

"It feels pretty good, but the big milestone in the NHL is 500," Bure told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "So I have a long way to go. The 301st, I'll remember that probably for a long time."

Bure ended his career with 437 goals, including 152 as a member of the Panthers.

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