Byfuglien avoids further discipline

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This article was published 22/04/2015 (3796 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DUSTIN BYFUGLIEN was already summoned to the principal’s office recently, but will escape facing the wrath of the National Hockey League’s department of player safety again.

The player safety department said Tuesday the Jets defenceman will not receive supplementary discipline for his hit on Ducks forward Corey Perry following his goal in Monday’s 5-4 Anaheim win. Byfuglien received a roughing penalty on the play, which the Jets then subsequently killed.

“The penalty, he can’t take,” said Jets coach Paul Maurice.

Byfuglien wasn’t saying much of anything in the wake of the game — or the incident with Perry — but some of his teammates came to his defence when the issue of his penalty, and his play in the series, was broached. Jets captain Andrew Ladd, guilty of a costly penalty in the loss in Game 2, was asked if he said anything to Byfugling about the roughing penalty on Perry.

“He knows,” said Ladd. “He’s an emotional guy and I would expect his best game of the series (in Game 4).”

Added Mark Stuart: “I see a lot of good things (from Byfuglien). I think he cares a lot and wants to win. He is going to be huge here (Wednesday) night, especially, and the rest of the series. Byfuglien has been an impact player all year for us whether he plays physically or whether he is putting up points. He can do pretty much everything, so we’re going to rely on him a lot.”

The issue of keeping composure came up a couple of times on Tuesday with both teams. For the Jets, their occasionally undisciplined play has been a trademark of their 2014-15 season. The Ducks, meanwhile, have shown a moxie about stepping away at the exact right moments to not get caught.

Here’s Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf on his reaction to seeing Perry get clocked by Byfuglien: “That’s the first time I’ve grabbed one of our guys in a scrum, that’s for sure. I was trying to get Patty (Maroon) out of there. It is one of those things. (Perry) is going to take shots. He responded well to it. As a group we talked about that before the series.

“I think we learned a lot about that last year playind Dallas and the different stuff they tried to do to me and (Perry) to get us off our game. At times, they were able to last year and I think we’ve learned from that.”

WHITEOUT NUMBERS: The Whiteout drew rave reviews (again) Monday night for the first-ever NHL playoff game at the MTS Centre. The Whiteout’s streak, however is not impressive.

The Jets have lost six straight series with it employed, and a seventh is only one more defeat away. This dates back to 1987.

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And since Dave Ellett’s double-overtime winner in 1990 against the Oilers, Winnipeg teams playing in front of white-clad fans have now lost eight of the last 11 playoff games.

NUMBERS GAME: Pick a stat and we’ll make it sing or squawk.

For instance, the Jets won the special-teams battle in Game 3 on Monday night, scoring their first advantage goal of the series and going one-for-three on the power play. The Ducks were blanked, zero for three, but still won the game in overtime.

In the series, Winnipeg’s penalty killing is just seven for 10. That’s tied for the bottom rung in the NHL playoff rankings. The other team at the bottom is also in a 3-0 series, but it’s the Montreal Canadiens, who hold a 3-0 edge on Ottawa.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait