Big Buff beating Predators at their own game Winnipeg’s force of nature has brought his usual physical presence to the Jets’ second-round series against the Predators, but where Dustin Byfuglien is really delivering is in the offensive end, Frank Seravalli writes.

Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive

WINNIPEG — These Stanley Cup playoffs are Big Buff’s world and the Nashville Predators are just living in it.

Dustin Byfuglien, the 6-foot-5 force of nature on the Winnipeg Jets blueline, has more bone-crunching hits in one game than some other entire series do, but he’s also delivering the heavy artillery at the offensive end.

“What makes him unique is he can, I don’t know if take over is right, but he can make an impact in a game in just about every single way possible,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said of Byfuglien. “He can defend, he can play real physical. Nobody wants to drop the gloves with him. Then there’s an offensive side. It’s a perfectly placed shot, quick hands, all the other things he can do offensively.”

Yes, this second-round slugfest has already done what is increasingly rare in sports: It has lived up to the hype.

We could all envision the 20 goals scored in the last two games while the Jets and Predators rode wild emotional swings amid the Stanley Cup playoff carnage in two of the loudest buildings in the league.

Perhaps the twist we didn’t see coming was Byfuglien and the Jets beating the Predators at their own game.

Byfuglien has singlehandedly outscored Nashville’s vaunted defence corps, three goals to two, to push the Jets to a 2-1 series edge.

“The game gets bigger and I think he just wants to be out there more making an impact,” Paul Stastny said. “He’s so good because he is engaged but he’s not too emotional. He doesn’t go out of his way. He wants the puck. He wants to be out there. He wants to be involved. We feed off that.”

The Predators led the NHL with 206 points produced by their blueline this season. They were one of only three teams with two 50-point defencemen – Toronto and Minnesota being the others.

So far, Roman Josi has been held off the scoresheet in this series, while P.K. Subban has the only two goals from the Predators’ defence. Josi and Ryan Ellis ­– who has a shot his teammates nicknamed “The Silencer” – have yet to score a goal in these playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Jets ranked 10th in points by defencemen during the regular season with 170, and Byfuglien was the only one to break the 40-point plateau.

“We do have a back end that can get really involved, jump in the holes, buy the forwards time, similar to Nashville,” Maurice explained.

Winnipeg’s defencemen played a critical role in the first four goals of Game 3’s rousing comeback win, scoring three of them and collecting the primary assist on Stastny’s marker that got the ball rolling in the second period.

The Jets’ defence activated in the play more while down 3-0 as the Predators seemed to sit back.

“I think that was an important change for us,” Maurice said. “Our back end gets up the ice with the play and if they had an opportunity to take ice, they took ice. That’s standard for our game and there was probably a little more room because they had a 3-0 lead.”

Jacob Trouba collected the first multi-point playoff game of his career.

But it was Byfuglien who stole the show, doing a jig on the ice after notching his first three-point playoff game since Game 5 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final with the Blackhawks.

The laid-back Byfuglien, who says Manitoba suits him well with his off-ice pursuits of ice fishing and hunting similar to his Minnesota roots, was at the centre of it all.

“It was nice to see him get a little excited,” Blake Wheeler said. “It’s tough to get him to smile.”

Wheeler was joking. Teammates say he’s incredibly different away from the cameras, rarely serious except when it’s time to go to work.

“There isn’t anyone here who doesn’t get the business from Buff,” Maurice said. “From the owner, to management, to the trainers and coaches, no one is safe. He likes to get everyone going.”

Byfuglien’s disposition is what makes him the perfect complement to a wired Wheeler, who is almost always plugged in, while Mark Scheifele is the conduit to the Jets’ young stars in Winnipeg’s leadership triumvirate.

“He’s the release valve,” Maurice said. “He can do it with a smile on his face. Blake is going to stare you to death. Buff is going to make you smile first.”

Byfuglien shrugged for reporters after Tuesday night’s win. Nothing to see here, move along. This is just what he does at this time of year – and he’s almost impossible to stop when he’s engaged.

“I want to win every night,” Byfuglien said. “I believe everyone does. It’s just a matter of coming to the rink, playing hard and doing my job best as I can do it. Hopefully the guys can follow and get some energy off it.”

Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalli​