Jets’ Byfuglien a big problem for Vegas
WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Dustin Byfuglien is a big problem for Vegas.
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Winnipeg defenseman can do it all, as the Golden Knights saw up close when he helped the Jets win Game 1 of the Western Conference finals with a goal and an assist.
“We got moving our feet right away,” Byfuglien said. “And the ice opened up.”
Byfuglien has a powerful shot, as he showed with a slap shot 1:05 into the Jets’ 4-2 victory .
The 33-year-old former forward, who played right wing for the Chicago Blackhawks during their Stanley Cup run in 2010, can join a rush on offense in evenstrength situations and plays on the power play. The NFL-sized player is nimble enough to skate fluidly and he handles the puck with soft hands. Byfuglien can crunch opponents against the boards or on the open ice with checks and kill penalties with savvy positioning.
In Game 1, he did all of that and more. “You saw the Dustin Byfuglien spectrum,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “He can shoot the puck a ton. He can make soft-hand plays and he can be as big and strong as you want out there.”
Vegas center William Karlsson was asked to compare Byfuglien with any other player in the league. And he was stumped. “He’s kind of one of a kind,” Karlsson said.
If the expansion Golden Knights can’t figure out a way to keep the puck away from Byfuglien and work around him offensively, their inaugural season may not last beyond this series.
Game 2 is Monday night in Winnipeg. Byfuglien leads the league’s defensemen with 15 points and five multi-point games in the playoffs.
“When he is on his game, he is as good as anybody,” Vegas coach Gerrard Gallant. “He’s a big strong man and can play the game any way you want to play it.”
The Blackhawks gave Byfuglien a shot to play in the NHL, taking a flyer on the Minnesota native in the eighth round with the No. 245 pick overall in 2003. He played his first full season in the league five years later and had 11 goals and five assists for Chicago during the 2010 playoffs.