Byfuglien has huge 'impact' for Jets in Game 2 win against Wild

WINNIPEG -- Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien is often both the unstoppable force and the immovable object.
He imposed those qualities on Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round against the Minnesota Wild and helped push the Jets into a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series with a 4-1 victory.

Byfuglien energized an already wired-up crowd at Bell MTS Place with big hits and sharp plays, including an assist on Paul Stastny's goal at 7:42 of the third period that put Winnipeg ahead 2-0.
RELATED: [Complete Jets vs. Wild series coverage]
"Just another day at the office," Byfuglien said.
Byfuglien (6-foot-5, 260 pounds) played 23:51, the most for Winnipeg, had three shots on goal, eight hits and three blocked shots.
It all was impactful, but a Winnipeg power-play shift during the second period provided more buzz than likely any other highlight from the game.
Byfuglien put a hard body check on Minnesota forward Mikael Granlund near the Winnipeg bench as Granlund cleared the puck down the ice.
Wild forward Mikko Koivu tracked down the puck in the Jets zone and after one attempt at a shot, skated behind the net. But he had his head down trying to control the puck and Byfuglien moved in and flattened him.
"It's just there," Byfuglien said. "I'll take it."
Koivu, no small man himself at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, was asked how he got up.
"Well, you're trying to score and you're around the net and you know he's somewhere, but you can't really think at that point," Koivu said. "I missed the first one there with an empty net and I don't know, the puck just got away from me. I got another chance and I tried to wrap it around, and he got me there. But I thought it was a clean hit."

In Game 1 on Wednesday, Byfuglien hit Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek when he wasn't looking, knocking him skates over helmet to the ice.
"He's just throwing his body all around the ice and it just gives us so much energy, and the crowd seems to like it," Jets forward Patrik Laine said. "So, we like it too."
Jets coach Paul Maurice said Byfuglien's game was underrated this season, when he scored 45 points (eight goals, 37 assists) in 69 games.
"He played very, very well for us, didn't score [much], and that seemed to draw a lot of the concern, but his game was good," Maurice said.
Stastny said Byfuglien doesn't get enough credit for his smarts.
"You're going in the corner, 1-on-1 battle with him, the majority of the time you want to let him go first but he's smarter than you think, too," Stastny said. "He knows he's a physical presence so he's almost wanting you to go first so he can use his body, and vice-versa.
"When you're a smart defenseman like that, I know he's a big boy, but the way he plays is very smart and the way he uses his body is very smart so it's tough to get on the forecheck. There are very few players like him. Very unique. … Sometimes he might give up a chance here and there but he creates more chances than he gives up so I think in that sense as a forward, playing with him is nice."

Cleverness and skill are assets for Byfuglien but it's often the impact of the collisions he's involved in that get noticed.
Maurice, who was an assistant for Europe at the World Cup of Hockey 2016, said several players were grateful when the United States did not dress Byfuglien for their round-robin game.
"I got about seven stories, it's 'Thank God,'" Maurice said. "And then they tell you the story, Tomas Tatar, of how Dustin at some point blew them up. And they were so pleased he wasn't in the lineup."
Maurice said that on the large majority of Byfuglien's hits, he believes Byfuglien eases up.
"He's been doing that selectively in the second half of the season, very, very well," Maurice said. "Very clean hits. I think you need to know he pulls off on just about every single hit.
"He's had a couple where he hit somebody, it might have been [Jay] Bouwmeester in St. Louis a couple years ago, where the feedback was it's a clean hit but there's gotta be a penalty there, it was so violent. He's such a big, powerful guy. He can change the way you think. There are certain defensemen in the League that you play differently as a forward, you're going to give them a bit more room and maybe move the puck a bit quicker. That just makes you smart."
The big hits are just part of his job, Byfuglien said.
"It makes me smile, I guess," he said. "You know that's just part of the game. I just enjoy playing the game. It doesn't really do much for me."
Winning Game 2 did get him excited.
"We have a game plan, being physical is one of our strong suits," Byfuglien said. "You know, we just want to play fast, just be on the body. If the hits are there, take it, don't go chasing them. We played a good team game and we stuck through it all 60."