Buff vs. Pronger

While Dustin Byfuglien has been the Blackhawks unlikely hero throughout the playoffs, he's going to have a much bigger task in front of him come Saturday night.  Chris Pronger.

Pronger is a tall task for any NHL team.  All size jokes aside, Pronger is an active defenseman with a knack for scoring goals and wreaking havoc in front of the net.  If it sounds familiar it's because that's exactly how Byfuglien started his career in the minors.  The Hawks have since moved Big Buff to wing, and reaped great rewards doing so.

With Buff now playing on the front line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, you can be certain that Chris Pronger—who plays on the top two defensive pairing for the Flyers—will be on the ice just about every time Buff steps out.

Let's look at the tale of the tape. Byfuglien measures up to 6'4'' and tips the scales at 257 lbs.  Pronger (6'6'' and 220 lbs.) has the reach but, up till now, no one has been able to push Byfuglien around.

In the first round the biggest matchup Byfuglien saw was Shea Webber (6'4''  234 lbs).  Webber though, is much more of a "shoot from the point" type of defenseman.  Byfuglien, however, didn't see a whole lot of time against Webber in the first round for two reasons.  One was that Buff was playing as a D man in the first three games as the Hawks waited for Brian Campbell's busted collarbone to heal.  Then, when Buff was moved back to offense, he wasn't on the top line with Toews and Kane.

Against the Canucks, Byfuglien's largest opposition would have been Andrew Alberts at 6'4''and 234 lbs.  Thing is, Alberts never logged much more than 11 minutes per game in the Western Conference Semi's because, frankly, he's not very good.

Against the Sharks Rob Blake (6'4'' 220 lbs) Byfuglien was facing a shadowy reflection of himself.  As a defenseman Blake can be an effective goal scorer with both his shot from the point and at close range.  Of course, we all know by now how Byfuglien, Toews and Kane dismantled the Sharks in the four-game sweep.

Still, the Pronger v. Byfuglien matchup—which promises to be often—will be a must-watch.  At 35, Pronger may not as fast as he once was, but does still have the top speed to match Byfuglien from time to time.  And it's Buff's combination of speed and size that make him so formidable to opponents and allowed him to dominate the Western Conference Finals.