Canucks agree Byfuglien poses a sizable challenge

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - While Dustin Byfuglien might have been the talk of the town here on Thursday after his 3-goal performance in Game 3, it was up to his teammates and the Canucks to speak about him on Thursday.

The Blackhawks didn't practice the day after their 5-2 win and Byfuglien wasn't one of the three players the club made available to the media despite a headline-making performance that was the best of his career.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, who has had to live with Byfuglien's inconsistencies more times than not the last two regular seasons, saw the 6-foot-4, 257-pound winger be a difference-maker last spring in the playoffs, and now this.

"He can have games like that," Quenneville said.

The Canucks have to be getting sick and tired of answering questions about Byfuglien, but even they admitted he was a force in Game 3.

"He's so big and strong that when he does get position on you he's almost impossible to move," Vancouver defenseman Shane O'Brien said. "Whoever is playing against him has got to do a better job not letting him get there and keep him out of the blue.

"There was a play last night where the puck was coming to the net and he dropped his shoulder into me and he was coming right through to the net. You've got to give him credit. When he does that he's effective. Two of his goals he was right in the blue and we've got to do a better job not letting him get there."

That's easier said than done, said teammate Brent Seabrook, who has had more than a few battles with Byfuglien in practice.

"When I've practiced against him and tried to take a run at him, I've bounced right off and I'm 225 pounds," Seabrook said. "I know what the Canucks are going through trying to deal with him."

Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo was even giving Byfuglien props on Thursday to a certain extent.

"Dustin is doing a good job and obviously not getting called for it," Luongo said. "He's taking advantage of that and doing what he has to do."

The Canucks contend Byfuglien and other Hawks are pushing the rulebook when it comes to crashing the crease. Luongo and his teammates felt Byfuglien certainly should have been penalized for goalie interference on his third goal when he pushed Luongo back into the net.

"I know what the rule is, but I also know what's being called and what isn't being called," Luongo said. "It's really out of our hands. We can't control what the refs are going to do. The only thing we can do is try to use it on our side as well when we're on the other side."

Byfuglien said after Wednesday's game he didn't feel the Canucks had anyone who could contain him in front.

"If you have an opportunity to hit him, you have to hit him even though he's big," Canucks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff said.

"He was a factor last game, that's for sure," Daniel Sedin said. "The first two games he wasn't that big a factor. He's big and he was hungry for rebounds and that's how we have to be."