Dustin Byfuglien is a large man. He is a large man that can score. That makes him a power forward. In the loosely refereed playoff environment Buff is running wild on the rink. He has five goals in the second season, including the game winner against the San Jose Sharks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. His playoff pace is 1 goal every 2.6 games. He averaged a goal every 4.8 games in the regular season. Milan Lucic experienced a similar increase, going from 0.4 points per game to 0.7 ppg in the playoffs.
The obvious lesson here for the Sabres is to start putting higher value on big forwards. These big men face stiffer penalty calling during the regular season, but shine in the playoffs, as they are allowed to abuse their physical advantage. Conversely, the Sabres small forwards faced more interference that slowed them and neutralized their agility & speed. Add Dustin Byfuglien to the list of guys who would be welcome in a Sabres jersey.
Now onto The Game: Game 1 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Chicago Blackhawks vs. San Jose Sharks @ HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA
The Sharks opened the scoring with 8:41 left in period one as D-Man, Jason Demers struck on the PP; assisted by Dan Boyle & Patrick Marleau. Antti Niemi made several nice saves throughout the night on Marleau, Heatley, and Joe Thornton, keeping them off the score sheet. Patrick Sharp caught Evgeni Nabokov sleeping on a long snap-shot through the wickets to even the score at one. Sharp's goal came 7:44 into the second period and was assisted by Duncan Keith and Troy Brouwer.
13:15 into the third period Jonathan Toews won a faceoff to South Buffalo's Patrick Kane. Kane fed Byfuglien in the high slot where Buff took a quick snap shot that beat Nabokov low. The goal gave the Blackhawks the 2-1 lead. That lead would not be relinquished as Chicago took a one to nothing series lead. The assist for Toews was his 15th of the playoffs, to go along with his 6 playoff goals in 13 games. I think it's safe to say that Jonathan Toews is the real deal.
But the hero of the night was the man whose name strikes fear into defensemen and spelling bee contestants everywhere. B-Y-F-U-G-L-I-E-N. Pronounced [Buff-lyn].
Game two is Tuesday 10 PM at HP Pavillion in San Jose.
The Flyers beat the Canadiens Six to Nothing on Sunday to win game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. I know better than to count the Canadiens out, but that was a dominating performance. The Flyers have won five straight games. Game two is Tuesday at 7pm at The Wachovia Center in The City of Brotherly Love.
Depending on your location, sit back, crack open a cold Brooklyn Lager, Labatt Blue, Genny, Hite, or Sierra Nevada and enjoy what should be a great night of hockey. Providing of course that the Montreal Canadiens remember to show up.
A little more about Dustin Byfuglien:
Born March 27, 1985 (Age 25) in Minneapolis, MN - He's American! Dustin's father is African American, and his mother is Norwegian. His stepfather, Dale Smedsmo, played professional hockey from 1971-79, only playing 4 NHL games, all with the Maple Leafs in 1971.
6'4", 257 - Small for a Defensive End, enormous for a Right Wing.
Shoots: Right
Jersey # is 33
Played his junior hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings('01-'03) & The Prince George Cougars('03-'05) of the Western Hockey League in Canada. Drafted by The Chicago Blackhawks in the 8th round(245th overall) of the 2005 NHL Draft. Played mostly in AHL for Norfolk & Rockford for '05-'07. 34 NHL Games over that 2 year period. Earned permanent call-up in November 2007. Scored a goal on his first shift on the NHL ice in 2007. Originally played Defense for the B'Hawks. Currently has 55 goals and 54 assists(regular season) over his 5 year NHL career. Byfuglien has 7 NHL Fights to his credit. Fighting is not his specialty, but he can handle himself and has fought Shane Doan, Shawn Thornton, Cody McCormick, and Steve Downie. His size alone (6'4", 257) acts as a deterrent for most other NHL players. The big man basically takes care of himself. Byfuglien is more known for his hitting, hard shot, and is a decent playmaker.
His jersey isn't a top seller (Top 20 below), but I would sure buy one if he was on my team.
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