Big Buff comes up big in big situations
Big Buff. Big Buff. Big Buff.
Big Bad Buff.
It's getting to the point where Big Bad John has nothing on the Blackhawks' Big Bad Buff.
Dustin Byfuglien is muscling his way into the Hawks' core for the future, if he wasn't already there.
Let's see, included are Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, maybe Antti Niemi -
Now Dustin Byfuglien, too, judging by his play during these Stanley Cup playoffs.
Sunday's opener of the Western Conference finals was a bit different from what I expect of Byfuglien.
Usually Big Buff is prominent any time he's on the ice as an immovable object in front of the opposing net and an irresistible force bumping into opposing skaters.
Byfuglien didn't seem as imposing on this afternoon at San Jose until his goal with 6:45 left led to the Hawks' 2-1 victory.
"It was a pretty even game," Sharks center Joe Thornton said.
Actually it was dead even until Byfuglien's goal.
There was end-to-end action all game with speed skaters on each team creating scoring opportunities.
Then it turned out that one of the NHL's biggest bangers won it by converting his opportunity on a slap shot from between the circles.
Every night at the rink you could see him arrive, he stood 6-foot-4 and weighed 255.
Depending on the Hawks' needs at any given time this season, Byfuglien alternated between wing and defense.
Versatile commodities like that are rare, especially power forwards like Byfuglien.
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville not only had Big Buff back at forward Sunday, he had him on the top line where his size and physicality complement Toews and Kane.
Then when Byfuglien contributes a hat trick, as he did in the Western semifinals at Vancouver, and a game-winner, as he did Sunday -
Well, my goodness, players like that aren't easy to find.
Through the dust and smoke of this hockey ground swell, walked a giant of a man that other goalies know well.
Maybe Dustin Byfuglien is taken for granted now as a reliable postseason player.
Most of the accolades after this victory went to Hawks goalie Antti Niemi for stopping 44 of 45 Sharks shots.
"He was unbelievable," Seabrook said.
At the other end of the rink Evgeni Nabokov stopped 38 of 40 shots. Scoring chances came easy but scores didn't.
"The next goal won," Quenneville said of the situation in the third period, "and Byfuglien scored a big one."
Many an NHL team has traded many a good NHL player after branding him as someone who didn't produce in the playoffs.
Byfuglien doesn't have to worry about that. He played well as the Hawks advanced to the Western finals last year and is improving on that performance this year.
"I feel I'm at the top of my game right now," Byfuglien said. "I know there's improvement to be made. You know, just got to keep working and just getting in front, you know, getting dirty."
That's a sure way to become a core guy on a quality team.
Big Buff. Big Buff. Big Buff.
Big Bad Buff.