If nothing else, this year's Stanley Cup playoffs have served as an incessant reminder of how strong Dustin Byfuglien is. They don't call the Winnipeg Jets' defenseman "Big Buff" for no reason; he's listed at 6-foot-5,, 260 pounds and he uses every bit of it to assert his dominance over opposing players. Byfuglien has already made his presence felt both on the scoreboard and in the trainer's room during the Jets' Western Conference Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
There have already been several examples of Byfuglien's brute strength in the series, but Wednesday night's Game 3 in Vegas may have brought the most humorous.
During the second period, Byfuglien basically broke up an entire post-whistle scrum all by himself.
Dustin Byfuglien is the NHL’s greatest bouncer pic.twitter.com/kdedKWIQvn
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 17, 2018
I mean, come on. He looks like a grown adult ripping a bunch of elementary school children off one another at recess.
Manhandling multiple opponents at once has become something of a habit for Byfuglien, who also did it during the Jets' second round series against Nashville.
Dustin Byfuglien pulls 2 players and a linesman out of the scrum by himelf pic.twitter.com/bAzAAOHg5g
— Born Salty (@cjzero) April 30, 2018
The Golden Knights have already learned the hard way that they probably shouldn't mess with Buff physically in this series. Even when he's the target of a hit, it seems to be the other guy who takes the most damage.
Try to hit Dustin Byfuglien at your own peril pic.twitter.com/22RHUrPKHl
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 13, 2018
That's Alex Tuch -- a 6-foot-4, 222-pound. Golden Knights forward -- trying to lay a hit on Byfuglien and instead bouncing off him like a crash test dummy.
The only Vegas player who potentially stands a chance of physically competing on Byfuglien's level is Ryan Reaves, who is a 6-foot-1, 225-pound wrecking ball. Reaves thought he had Byfuglien outmatched, strength-wise...
Reporter: Is Dustin Byfuglien the strongest player in the league?
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) May 13, 2018
Reaves: I'm the strongest player in the league. (laughs)
Reporter: Is he the second-strongest?
Reaves: He might be, yeah.#VegasBorn #WPGWhiteOut
...but even he got victimized in Game 2.
Ryan Reaves goes to hit Dustin Byfuglien and gets dropped pic.twitter.com/Suqa5uaqwd
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) May 15, 2018
I'm not sure how many more hilarious feats of strength we're going to be gifted by Byfuglien throughout these playoffs, but it's been a joy to watch thus far. Essentially, he's proven that he's The Mountain of the NHL.