"Kevin Bieksa says he was in full control of his senses Monday night when he skated up to Adam Burish and challenged the Dallas Stars' buzz-saw to fight halfway through the first period.

That the Vancouver Canucks defenceman did so with a black eye, fresh stitches, no visor and a sore face after absorbing a huge punch the previous game should not be seen as evidence that he was in any way out of his mind.

Honest, he says.

"I had nothing invested emotionally in that scrum," Bieksa said Tuesday, the morning after challenging Burish for a dangerous hit on Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis. "But Burish did. He was fired up and pissed off, and he ended up taking a roughing penalty later in the game. Keep your emotions in check. That's something I've definitely learned."

And that's not all.

He has learned less is more for defencemen in the National Hockey League, that patience is as important as aggression and that one of the greatest signs of toughness is self-discipline. He has learned to focus on what is important and not what is sensational.

After three erratic seasons undermined by two savage leg injuries, Bieksa has become at age 29 the superior defenceman he was projected to be when he was 24. Bieksa has become indispensable, which is an amazing upgrade in status because he began the season as a kind of dead man walking — the highly paid, soon-to-be free agent most likely to be sacrificed to make the salary cap work.

Although teammate Ryan Kesler is being lauded around the NHL for his personal and professional development this season, Bieksa has done a lot of growing up as a player.

Previously a lot more risky than rewarding, Bieksa has figured out how to play within himself. He's a defenceman; if he's in the right place, eventually the game will always come to him.

"I've always said to Kevin: 'Let's not chase the game,' " associate coach Rick Bowness, who teaches the defencemen and found Bieksa on occasion to be a challenging pupil, said after Tuesday's practice for Wednesday night's game against the Nashville Predators.

"Right now, what you see is a very mature player. He's like Kesler. Four or five years ago, these kids come in and you ask yourself: 'Can we win the Stanley Cup with these guys?' If they continued to improve, yeah. But there are growing pains to get them there."