He
sent the United Center into pandemonium and moved the Chicago Blackhawks to within one victory of the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 18 years.
Dave Bolland's nifty pass from behind the net found the 257-pound Byfuglien in stride as he skated hard into the slot Friday night. When the puck hit the net off Byfuglien's stick in overtime, Chicago had a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks and a 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference finals.
Two assists from Jonathan Toews, a breakaway goal by Bolland in the third period and 44 saves from Antti Niemi put the Blackhawks on the cusp of their first appearance in the finals since 1992. They can wrap up the series in a sweep Sunday at home.
"I mean, you're not going to get too high on yourself or too full of yourself like that. You got to do the right things and play the right way if you're going to have success," said Toews, the team's 22-year-old captain, who has a point in 12 straight playoff games.
"We've done that. There's nothing about us that says we're unbeatable. As soon as we get away from playing our game, you know, we're a mediocre, average team. We got to go out there, work hard, stick to our guns, stick to how we learned to play this year. That way we're going to be tough to beat."
And right now they Blackhawks are just that, as the talented Sharks - the regular season champions in the West
- have discovered.
"The reality is we're down 3-0. Happened a week ago with two good teams playing and Philadelphia found a way to come back, so there's something to draw in there," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said.
"Plus the fact that we've been in this series I think for every minute. That's got to leave us feeling good. But we know we're in a hole and we've got to dig our way out. "
Byfuglien has carved out a reputation for parking his big body in front of the net but this time he used his speed and good hands to score 12:24 into overtime.
"It's great, something I'll definitely remember," Byfuglien said. "Bolland made a good play and just laid it out in the slot, and all I had to do was finish."
Chicago would like to finish off the Sharks on Sunday and avoid a trip back to the West Coast.
"With San Jose, they're such a good team, we definitely can't, you know, let off at all. We got to keep going right to the final buzzer," Byfuglien said.
"We want to feel like that's the most important game we play all year. That's the motivation and incentive. We know we have to be better than tonight," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said.
Bolland scored on a breakaway to put Chicago ahead 2-1 in the third period, but Patrick Marleau answered with a rebound goal with 4:23 left in regulation to tie it and force overtime.
