Cross-check a miscue: Buff
Meant to hit back, not neck, of falling Ranger Miller
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/04/2015 (4026 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
DENVER — Dustin Byfuglien has finished doing the time for his on-ice crime.
Byfuglien sat out the final game of his four-game suspension Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche for his cross-check to the neck of J.T. Miller of the New York Rangers on March 31. And prior to the game, he spoke for the first time of the incident and the suspension.
“I was lucky he wasn’t hurt. That’s a good thing. You never want to see that happen,” said Byfuglien. “It is what it is. It’s right there, and it’s plain as day. I was just playing defence. I wasn’t focused on doing (cross-checking Miller). It was just what happened in the heat of the moment.”
Asked if he was trying to deliver the cross-check to Miller’s back, not his neck, Byfuglien said:
“Yeah. He was falling. It’s simple. It’s right on tape.”
Byfuglien has been with the team during this entire road trip that also included stops in Minnesota and St. Louis. But he has been visible on and off the ice, quick to offer a slap on the back to a teammate in a post-game media scrum and being vocal during practices.
That said, watching from the press box has been driving him bonkers.
“It’s tough to sit there and watch,” Byfuglien said. “It’s not fun. No one wants to do it. But the boys have played good hockey and (getting into the post-season) would be huge for us. It’s another thing we’ve been working hard for.”
The incident with Miller came 10 days ago but was indirectly thrust into the spotlight again this week when the Jets met the Blues. In that game, St. Louis forward David Backes delivered a cross-check to Mark Stuart that drew the wrath of Jets fans but went un-penalized and the league, after looking at it, declared “it wasn’t forceful enough to rise to the level of supplementary discipline.”
Former NHL referee Kerry Fraser, in his TSN.ca C’Mon Ref segment also weighed in on the Backes crosscheck:
“Byfuglien’s attack on Miller was an obvious match penalty… Backes, on the other hand, deserved a major penalty and game misconduct for his short cross-check to the neck of Mark Stuart with the puck underneath the Jets defender. Given the distinct differences evident in each situation, I do not believe that, under the current standard employed by the department of player safety, David Backes would or should be suspended.”
‘I was lucky he wasn’t hurt. That’s a good thing. You never want to see that happen. It is what it is. It’s right there and it’s plain as day’
— Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien
JETS PROSPECTS SHINE IN THE ‘Q’: Jets draft pick Jan Kostalek (2013, fourth round/114th overall) was honoured as the QMJHL’s best defenceman this week, winning the Emile Bouchard Trophy, and was voted to the league’s first all-star team.
The 20-year-old Czech, who signed with the Jets last month, finished with seven goals and 36 assists in 57 games and posted the league’s best plus-minus at +55 during his season with the Rimouski Oceanic.
Meanwhile, 2014 first-round pick Nik Ehlers was honoured with the Paul Dumont Trophy as the QMJHL’s Personality of the Year. The award is bestowed upon the player who best represents his team and the league.
ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait
