Byfuglien relishes role ... in spotlight

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - They don't like Dustin Byfuglien much around here.

OK, maybe there's one person.

Byfuglien decided to get out of the hotel and take a walk Thursday morning following his hat trick in Game 3 on Wednesday night.

Bad idea?

Nah, Byfuglien said.

"I went for a little walk early in the morning. I had headphones on, hat way down and sunglasses on," Byfuglien said. "I got harassed a little bit. Actually, an older lady chased me down for a while. It was funny. She just pulled on my shirt and wanted to say hi and tell me what a good job I did.

"I guess it's a little easier for me to get picked out, but it's only a bonus and makes you feel better when people recognize you."

Byfuglien is relishing his role as public enemy No. 1 around these parts, and he was a huge factor again Friday night in the Hawks' 7-4 win that put them up 3-1 in the Western Conference semifinal series.

Byfuglien didn't figure as prominently on the score sheet with 1 assist, but he drew three penalties and seemingly had the Canucks - Shane o'Brien and Alex Burrows, in particular - obsessed with him. "I thought Buff withstood a lot of physicality at the net and certainly created a lot of distirbance," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought he was very effective, not just by being around the net, but he had some speed around the walls as well."

Before the gameByfuglien promised to be just as involved as in Game 3.

"I'm still going to play the same way," Byfuglien said. "It's not too often you can be in the spotlight all the time like (Patrick) Kane and (Jonathan) Toews, so you might as well take it and stay with it."

One Canadian reporter asked Byfuglien after Friday's morning skate how it felt to be the most hated guy in town.

"It helps and gets me going a little bit," Byfuglien said.

Byfuglien was surrounded by reporters and cameras at his locker stall and patiently responded to every question.

"I think he deals with the attention pretty well," Toews said. "A lot of guys might want to just fly under the radar and do their job, but he's the type of guy who wants that attention from their players and will take it on and try to make things happen."

It takes a lot to rile the easygoing Byfuglien, who probably is the most laid-back guy in the Hawks' dressing room with a good sense of humor.

This is the second postseason in a row that Byfuglien has become a key figure for the Hawks.

"In any series, especially against a team like this, you need some big nights from players all over your lineup, whether it's Kris Versteeg scoring a big goal in game 2, or Buff," Toews said.