NHL News | May 6, 2010

Hawks’ Byfuglien a big problem for Canucks

By Ross McKeon
May 6, 2010


Vancouver, BC — This just in: Should goalie Antti Niemi falter in Friday’s Game 4 here, the Chicago Blackhawks will turn to Dustin Byfuglien in net.

OK, so maybe that’s not exactly true. While the hulk of a man, who stands 6-foot-4 without skates and weighs 257 pounds sans hockey gear, would certainly fill a lot of that 6x4 real estate, Byfuglien will be spared basically the only position at which he has not appeared in this second-round playoff series against the frustrated Vancouver Canucks.

Having lined up on defense for most of one game, and skating as part of a fourth-line mix in another, Byfuglien was promoted all the way up to the first line alongside Chicago’s stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane on Wednesday night.

He delivered.

Byfuglien scored three goals in so close that the Canucks’ Roberto Luongo knew exactly what Big Buff had for lunch. Too bad for Vancouver the power forward/sometimes defenseman/aspiring goaltender had the hosts for dessert.

“A lot of you guys like to talk about him this time of the year, maybe it gets him going a little bit,” Toews said. “He does stuff all year. His body is such a big presence out there when he’s around the net. Maybe now it gets noticed a little more, so that’s good.”

Byfuglien has the Canucks’ attention, all right. His offensive prowess was on display Wednesday – gobbling up confounding rebounds left by a suddenly struggling Luongo – but Byfuglien’s ability to play on the edge and not cross the line truly was a thing of beauty, especially as the Canucks’ struggles on special teams and with lack of discipline have come into focus.

In addition to now holding 2-1 series lead, the Blackhawks control the battle of mind games. Canucks coach Alain Vigneault didn’t want to get into the subject of his team’s frustrations, but he said he is aware of the type of play being allowed around the goal and that his team has to do a better job in front of both nets.

Byfuglien has plenty to do with that.

“They’ve got to [be worrying] about me coming and [worrying] about getting hit,” he said.

And, now, about being scored upon.

Actually, Byfuglien didn’t even know he’d collected a playoff hat trick even after addressing the media afterward. Chicago’s fifth and final goal – a rugby scrum in Luongo’s crease that included two Canucks and a pair of Blackhawks in a pile that literally was pushed across the line along with the puck – originally was announced as Kane’s seventh playoff tally. Further review showed it was Byfuglien’s stick that last touched the puck, and word didn’t reach the Chicago locker room until the night’s star was already in the showers.

“He had a big impact on the game,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “He was physical, he had a presence around the net. He certainly was a big factor.”

This is nothing new for Byfuglien, especially against the Canucks. He tortured Vancouver in the second round last season when the Blackhawks rallied from a 2-1 series deficit to close out the Canucks in six. This time he denied the hosts from taking that 2-1 lead and put Vancouver in a position of needing to respond on Friday.

“He’s picked up where he left off last year,” Quenneville added. “We’ve tried a lot of different things with him. To be able to play up front and fill in on the back, that kind of versatility is a huge asset for your team.”

The best way for the Canucks to battle what the Blackhawks are throwing their way is to fight fire with fire. Vancouver was way too much on the perimeter in Game 3. Sure, Niemi was athletic and stopping everything shot along the ice, but he didn’t face much traffic, and most of Vancouver’s 33 shots were not dangerous.

The Canucks need to get more engaged emotionally, but between the whistles and not to the point of taking stupid penalties. None was more confounding and costly than Alex Burrows’ unsportsmanlike conduct minor at 10:49 of the second period. Burrows decided to repeatedly goad Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell a good 80 feet from where everyone else was focused. Finally the one-sided battle was detected, and the easy call was made.

Byfuglien punched home a short rebound 34 seconds later – part of Chicago’s 2-for-6 night on the power play – and celebrated by skating along the glass on the end boards with his arms outstretched and smiling at the Canucks faithful. It turned a one-goal game into a 3-1 lead – a deficit Vancouver wasn’t able to fully overcome.

“The last two games we really started to pick it up and play as a team,” Byfuglien said.

That they have, and the challenge has been issued for the Canucks to respond or see this series head back to Chicago with the Blackhawks firmly in command.

“[Byfuglien] played a real strong game and obviously he did a great job in front of our net,” Vigneault said. “I think we’re going to have to try to do a better job protecting the front of our net.

“And at the same time we know what’s being allowed and permitted on the ice in front of the nets and we have to do the same things. We do that, we probably score more goals.”

It’s an approach Byfuglien and the Blackhawks mastered Wednesday night.

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