Thrashers 3-4-1 so far…eh, it could be worse
If someone had told you just last month that the Thrashers would be at 3-4-1 after the first two weeks or so of the season, I’m sure quite a number of you would have been OK with that. Two games against the three-time defending SE division champ Washington Capitals, a four game road trip just after the home opener…including three out on the west coast against teams like the Kings and Sharks…and even a couple against the much-improved Tampa Bay Lightning.
Not exactly the easiest way to kick off the new season. So being right around break-even can be placed in a positive light I suppose.
As coach Ramsay told Chris Vivlamore, “It’s scary sometimes if you look ahead [at the schedule] and I, honestly, try not to. But you couldn’t help but look at some of that and go ‘Uh-Oh, this is not good.’ When we initially looked at it and saw four in a row on the road to start, I thought we are playing good teams, it’s not good”.
Fredrik Modin, seen here being squeezed out of the play by former Thrasher Pavel Kubina, has not scored since opening night and is a -7 (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Ramsay did go on to say that he was “pleased” at what his team has accomplished thus far, but not “thrilled”…which is a pretty fair explanation of how things have panned out, I believe.
To bring the coach’s thoughts into perspective, also take into account the following. What if…again, just prior to the season…you would have not only looked at the schedule, but were also told that the following would be the case after eight games.
Bryan Little would have zero goals and but three assists.
Rich Peverley would have zero goals to go with his four assists.
Fredrik Modin would have 1 goal, zero assists and would be a –7.
Nic Bergfors would have zero goals, three assists and will have missed three games.
Nik Antropov would have zero goals, 1 assist and a –3 rating while playing limited minutes due to not being 100% following his hip surgery last summer.
Chris Mason, the netminder brought in to be a stabilizing force between the pipes, would have a 3.54 GAA.
Zach Bogosian would have played in just three games, missing the last five due to a shoulder injury.
And only five players…Chris Thorburn, Brent Sopel, Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager and the aforementioned Bergfors…would be on the plus side of the +/- rating.
While celebrating Andrew Ladd's power play goal in Washington Saturday night, Bryan Little took time to remind himself just where the goal is actually located at. He's scoreless after eight games (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Uh-huh…now toss into the equation the fact that the Thrashers not only have allowed 37.6 SA/G at this point, but the shots for/shots against deficit is –8.4. That’s more than the -8.1 SF/SA the 2007-08 version of the Thrashers put up…and we all remember what a success that season was, don’t we?
So you’ve got major players who’ve missed games, a lack of scoring from a number of top-six type, Mason giving up three and a half goals per game, numerous gaffs in the defensive zone which have led to goals and a defense that makes fans reminisce fondly of the good ‘ol days when they only gave up 33 SA/G.
Now if you take all of that into consideration, I’d be willing to bet that there are several who would have predicted the Thrashers would be lucky to have anything north of 2 or 3 points going into game nine in New York City. But instead, we’re looking at a 3-4-1. It’s not a winning record mind you, but given the circumstances…shrugs… I guess it could be worse.
Now, this isn’t to say that there haven’t been some good things to talk about. Certainly the 4 goals and 5 overall points from Anthony Stewart is noteworthy…as is the 3 goals, 4 points and +4 showing from Chris Thorburn. Taking three of a possible four points from the Caps early on is a bonus as is the fact that the much-worried-about offense has so far produced goals at a 2.75 per game rate, roughly the same as last year.
What concerns you most about the Thrashers?
- Lack of scoring from certain top-line players (33%, 58 Votes)
- Too many Shot Against (30%, 53 Votes)
- The SF/SA deficit (11%, 20 Votes)
- Goalkeeping (2%, 3 Votes)
- Health issues of key players (1%, 2 Votes)
- Too many mistakes in the D-zone (23%, 40 Votes)
Total Voters: 176
Loading ...However this team has some issues to hammer out, and hammer out soon, if it’s to remain competitive much beyond the time we send the tax exemptions out to extort sugary treats from the neighbors.
And primary among those issues is…just as it’s been for some time now…the infamous Shots Against bug-a-boo.
What’s the root cause of this problem? Well, it could be that the “up tempo” style of play can sometimes leave a team exposed in back. Also don’t discount the Antropov situation. Last season he was a +13 player, so not having him on the ice as much this fall plays into the equation.
And then there’s the absence of one Mr. Pavel Kubina. Remember, he was a “plus” defenseman for the Thrashers last season into late March. Ultimately he finished EVEN before sitting out the last few games with an injury. I have no idea what Rick Dudley offered him last summer, but I’m sure there are many in Thrasherville who wish it were just a few dollars more.
But moreover, I think this SA/G issue is indicative of how much work Ramsay and Co. have to do to “un-teach” certain bad habits…specifically in regards to overall team defense. Taking a team that was constructed for a decade in the mold of “score a lot and defend when you can” and turning it into a defensively-sound unit takes more than just eight regular season games.
But here’s to hoping they un-learn those bad tendencies soon.
If not…well, their position in the standings certain could be worse in coming days.
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156 comments Add your comment
Red Light
October 26th, 2010
2:00 pm
How about this ticket innovation…Grow the game with the kids
Box Office Only for Games with Pre-Sales of Less than 9,200
• Buy one adult ticket ($46 or higher) and get two free tickets for children under the age of 17 while supplies last
Box Office Only for Games with Pre-Sales of Less than 11,200
• Buy one adult ticket ($46 or higher) and get one ticket for one child under the age of 17 while supplies last
Season Ticket Holders
• Choose five weekday games (Mon.-Thurs.) during the season to invite family, friends and business associates to attend games absolutely free. That’s five times the number of seats you purchased for your use during the season.
1,600 season ticket holders x 2.5 tickets average per buyer = 4,000 tickets x 5 games = 20,000 tickets distributed.
With 37 home games left, that’s an average of only 540 distributed per game.
They could even do more than that!
Rawhide
October 26th, 2010
2:00 pm
Yeah, stop just throwing Little under the bus, throw both Little and Modin under the bus.
R. Stroz – At least Modin has found the net once this season….once.
Poop Head
October 26th, 2010
2:13 pm
Atlthrasherfan13;;;;Bogosian just needs to stay healthy….these niggling little injuries are stifling a great player.
You can not use the N word on these blogs!!!!
World Be Free
October 26th, 2010
2:17 pm
Smoothie-I sat down near the glass on our defensive end Friday and he was floating up and down the ice. when Little comes alive he is a good player. And I agree with you that he is not the prime source of our worries. i havenn’t been a Little basher up to this point. Where are you sitting for the Slug’s game Friday?
Smoothie
October 26th, 2010
2:28 pm
“R. Stroz – At least Modin has found the net once this season….once”
Why you guys fixated on goal-scoring?? In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve lost games due to our lousy play at the other end…you know, the one where defense is supposedly played??
And Modin doesn’t score without Antro’s big butt clogging up the middle of the slot…give Little a healthy Antro and Bergy or Kane and watch good things happen. Antropov’s hip and Bogey’s shoulder may end up being the keys to our season.
Kaner – Antro – Lits (Bryan likes to dish and Kaner likes to crash)
Ladd – Pevs – Bergie (Buff ideally)
Modin – Burmy – Thorbs (Burmy’s hustle can protect Swedee)
Eager – Slates – Stewie (speed and size that kills)
Hoof Arted
October 26th, 2010
2:29 pm
I’ve been watching Little for three years now. His slump is going on well over a year now, not just these first 8 games.
Kane, Stewart and Ladd have played outstand, though.
Smoothie
October 26th, 2010
2:32 pm
WBF – okay, I’ll grant you that since watching live can be an advantage over TV if you are spot-lighting one player. Perhaps his frustration caught up with him because he was one of the few players husting his A off on that Wed vs the Slugs. I have notated many, many times in my game notes how often B-Lits thwarts an offensive rush with his back-checking. The boy needs a goal…one thing is certain: he gets down on himself when he misses a couple of layups, which he has. Give him Antro and Kaner and watch the lamp go crazy. And stop making Antropov play center when he’s not 100%!!!!!
Oh yeah, we’ll be in our usual “perch” with the gang in the uppers. Meet you at Beers Around the World for a brew before game? I know K-belle will want a “real” beer instead of the crappy stuff that comes our of the Arena’s polluted beer lines.
Rawhide
October 26th, 2010
2:35 pm
Why you guys fixated on goal-scoring?? In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve lost games due to our lousy play at the other end…you know, the one where defense is supposedly played??
Smoothinator – Because Little is supposed to be a 30+ goal scorer. I’ll repeat from my 1:37 pm post….”Dating back to March 21, 2009, Little has a total of 13 goals in 97 games played”.
However, I agree with you in regards to where this team has lost games. Absolutely EEE-GREE-geously bad play too often in the defensive zone.
Diehard
October 26th, 2010
2:40 pm
The teams performance in the losses to Buffalo and Tampa were two of the most listless disheartening losses in the teams ten year history. Worse than even the expansion years. Those type performances will not build fans but drive them away. I am a huge hockey fan and came away disgusted and angry. Further to the extent the team played well on the west coast the games were blacked out on NHL Ice and nobody saw it. While that is a whole different vent it is no way to build a fan base. The team cannot show up in the second or third period and try to get back into games. The talent is not here. I want to see a team clawing and fighting when behind not going through the motions. All that being said the opening night performance against the Caps was very encouraging. Wish we could get that vibe going again
Smoothie
October 26th, 2010
2:43 pm
“Because Little is supposed to be a 30+ goal scorer”
I hear ya Big Willy, but can you say “fluke”? We all know the 30 goals was an aberration. I think we’d all be happy to see the kid pot 20-22 goals. He’s a 20-goal scorer that should be dishing out 30-40 assists. That’s what I’d like to see out of him.
Riceowls
October 26th, 2010
2:46 pm
3-4-1 is okay if things get better. If the play in the 4 losses continues, its going to be a long season. I hope for the latter, but fear the former.
As for Welch over Kulda, if this is a very short call up (basically wednesday) a veteran will handle it better than a kid. IMHO
Rawhide
October 26th, 2010
2:48 pm
Smoothie – Point taken…but 13 in 97 games?
Kid needs to step it up. But again, he certainly isn’t alone.
Smoothie
October 26th, 2010
2:53 pm
Well let’s just say that if he does break out of this slump AND really is capable of scoring 25-30 goals, then he’s gonna be RED HOT over the final 74 games! I’d be very happy with 25 over 74 or 1 every 3 games. Tomorrow night it starts: la Parka!!
Zoomo
October 26th, 2010
2:55 pm
Just a data point for the 10K attendance for the Gwinnett game last Saturday. It was the home opener and also the “Hat Trick for Reading” night. The “Hat Trick” program provides free tickets to grade school kids who read three full books. Free. Yes, we were there. I bet half the place was there on the free ride. Novel idea. Get butts in to see a game early in the season, in hopes that they like it and come back.
The Thrashers marketing team has missed the boat on how to get new fans into the building. There was zero Thrashers presence at the Gwinnett game. How can you not work out a deal with Gwinnett to have marketing or ticket reps or, at the very least, schedules to availble to the Gwinnett patrons?
You have to cross market to the Glads’ fans. I’ve heard it suggested that Gwinnett be the AHL team for the Thrashers so that you build player recognition so that when guys are called up, there’s already a bond with the player.
The Thrashers and Glads are already competimg against themselves why not make it really work as a partnership and build the fans base through the Gwinnett affiliation?
They really are two differnet experiences – the NHL and ECHL – the ECHL is very much a family vlaue night out. But there are plenty of Gwinnett that’d go downtwon if you’d market directly to them.
Zombie Steve
October 26th, 2010
2:58 pm
I’m gonna go ahead and say what a lot of you are probably already thinking:
What if Lits is a one-hit-wonder?
We keep acting like it should be a normal feat for him to drop 30 a season…. he’s only done it once…
Zombie Steve
October 26th, 2010
2:59 pm
Is he our Cheechoo?
Adam
October 26th, 2010
3:08 pm
Playing proper D everywhere on the ice will create scoring opportunities.
I never like it when players look to make the pretty pass out of the D zone. Skate the puck out, move it up ice, force the other team to make a play on you then pass. Get the opposing team in transition and stop allowing them to reset their offense before you’ve even completed your line change. That “pretty pass” that gets picked off means you’re the one caught in transition.
I actually think the Thrashers have been better on D than they were the last couple of seasons. It’s the poor puck handling that is killing them and leading to more SOG. Every bad pass or mishandled puck that creates a possession change is another chance for the other team to get a SOG instead of the other way around.
Rainman
October 26th, 2010
3:09 pm
Modin Sucks.
World Be Free
October 26th, 2010
3:14 pm
smoothie – see you before the game
Smoothie
October 26th, 2010
3:15 pm
“I actually think the Thrashers have been better on D than they were the last couple of seasons. It’s the poor puck handling that is killing them and leading to more SOG. Every bad pass or mishandled puck that creates a possession change is another chance for the other team to get a SOG instead of the other way around.”
Adam – “sage-r” words have never been spoken. Not even by that SOB guy.
Jeff
October 26th, 2010
3:17 pm
Does anyone know if those of us with Dish Network but without the NHL Leage Pass will get to watch the game tomorrow night against the Rangers? Maybe one of of the other networks that Dish has picked up?
Smoothie
October 26th, 2010
3:17 pm
WBF – roger that! Look forward to the rendez-vous…and a Molson.
Red Light
October 26th, 2010
3:39 pm
Adam:
Counter to your pretty pass theory is the notion that when a player skates with the puck, it allows the opposition to clog the neutral zone. Of course, there is a time and a place for both. Now, I like the outlet pass a lot, but I want effective rather than pretty, and I grew up during the end-to-end rushes of Orr, Park, Coffey, Leetch, etc. and think that has become a lost art. Puck possession, no matter how you arrive at it, is a key component of the game. So far, the forwards have still been at the root of the problem.
Win the neutral zone, win the battle.
alex
October 26th, 2010
4:43 pm
gave up on the season just after 8 games, began study next lottery picks. only one hope left, asg clowns finally after prolonged court decision put team for sale, otherwise don and company going to total ruin this franchise to the point when relocation couldn’t be avoid.
Red Light
October 26th, 2010
5:02 pm
Tomorrow night, the Rangers and Thrashers may take the ice with a total of seven players from the April 12, 2007 playoff meeting between the two teams at Philips Arena. The Thrashers have two, the Rangers have five. Name them?
Oh, and the Thrashers won five straight games vs the Rangers until last year’s final meeting in which the Rangers won 5-2 in March. Four of those five wins were via the shootout. Care to guess who scored the deciding shoot-out goal in the four?
Get The Puck Out
October 26th, 2010
5:20 pm
Wouldn’t it be better to get half of the ticket price than to not get anything? If maybe they would try this for a few games, and the players actually hear fans instead of sounding like practice it might just inspire them. Or embarress them one.
JT from Columbus
October 26th, 2010
5:37 pm
I thought I read that there was an prospective buyer for the Thrashers? Was that just a rumor?
Hockey Biltong
October 26th, 2010
6:48 pm
mmmooooooooooooooooooooooo.
New Sheriff in town…. yall better behave….
J P Vigier
October 26th, 2010
7:30 pm
Miss me yet?
glovesave29
October 26th, 2010
7:34 pm
I go to Glads games for several reasons…first is obviously the price. I have two kids aged 9 and 7. Friday night tickets for them are (including dinner) are $15. If they get tired and want to leave earlier, no big loss. Equivalent tickets to the Thrashers are $70+. At that price they are staying to the end come hell or high water. Free parking is also pretty nice. The games not being televised is a plus too. No TV time outs and lengthy delays prior to faceoffs. This cuts 30-40 minutes off of the game time and this is certainly attractive to me. Every night there are scouts in the crowd, so getting anything less than a 100% effort by all is unheard of. I grew up playing this game – I know the difference in the quality of the play…my kids don’t – and its great family time.
Bettman will never allow a city the size of Atlanta to lose the team again. I am sure they have bought some extra time after bringing in true hockey guys like Dudley, Ramsey and Torchetti. But I can certainly see him getting involved should the ASG continue to allow this team to be underfunded and rudderless from the owners box.
I’ve been the proponent of moving the Glads to the AHL. I want the players to have as little possible change when moving between leagues. Players need not worry about apartments, packing, family…just makes the transition smoother for all where all they need to concern themselves with is hockey.
RS
October 26th, 2010
7:51 pm
Veej, How’s that bellringing job going?
Craig Custance tweeted this afternoon that Dudley told him there was a “99 percent chance” Burmistrov stays and there had never been any discussions about sending him back.
KLS1
October 26th, 2010
9:06 pm
Hard for the best scorers to net goals when we are always on the penalty kill.
DaveR
October 26th, 2010
11:10 pm
Bergfors is one of the most skilled players on this team, but for no good reason he’s been held out 3 games and he’s played limited minutes – maybe 10-12 mins, on 2d and 3rd lines – in the games he’s been used.
Ramsey/Dudley: Do yourself a favor and give him 16-18 mins on the top 2 lines; or do him a favor and trade him to a decent team that will use him properly.
Brendan
October 27th, 2010
12:31 am
I don’t want to come here and make excuses for Bryan Little. (Really, sounds like you’re about to, though, Brendan!) Last year, Little wasn’t playing his natural center position, like when he did score 31 goals. Now, that doesn’t absolve him of 13 goals in 97 games. That’s underperformance for a 1st round pick (12th overall), who should have more “upside” than this.
Here’s what I would do, bearing in mind, that I have ZERO professional wins to my credit. I’d put Little between Bergfors and Byfuglien. Then see what comes of it. If it’s junk, the experiment is over. If it produces, then I give the line more ice time.
Sara
October 27th, 2010
7:25 am
Eh, it could be worse? Gee such enthusiasm.
But yeah it could be. The good is that the team has kept itself in the mix and not already totally shot themselves in the foot in the standings. The bad is this team has a lot of work to do yet and you wonder how quickly the improvements can come.
Option B is pretty pointless IMO – it’s the symptom of the underlying problems of bad neutral zone turnovers, the inability to clear the defensive zone, the inability to sustain pressure in the offensive zone, and a further inability to keep their butts out of the penalty box. Not too mention an anemic PP unit and an inconsistent PK. Goaltending has been about the only thing I’ve been happy with overall and I’m not going to pin Mason’s ugly stats on Mason – not with that SA/G average they are running.
One more reason moving to Gwinnett would never work … you can’t sustain an NHL payroll in a rink that size. The teams that tend to profit or at least come close to breaking even are the ones that sell-out nearly every game in arenas with capacities close to or above the 18k mark. It’s part of the catch-22 for the Thrashers … piss-poor attendance means low revenues which means less money for payroll which means a sub-standard product which means no one wants to go to games.
World Be Free
October 27th, 2010
8:20 am
Burmie has worked hard every shift, he deserves to be here more than some of his teammates.
BlueSpark
October 27th, 2010
8:22 am
Brendan, when Little scored 31 he mostly skated with Kozlov and White, correct? Whitey was the center and little was RW, if I recall. A good chunk of those goals came in the first half of the season while on the PP. I chalk those up to the opposing PK being primarily concerned with preventing shots from the left circle by a certain LW with a penchant for blistering one-timers.
I would hazard a guess that Little shot more often in that season, as well.
In other words, it was probably a fluke, and I think Little will be lucky to get anywhere near 31 ever again. Not trying to knock him; I just think he benefited from teams’ defensive plan of throwing everything at number 17, and challenging the rest of Thrashers to beat them. This plan seemed to work.
World Be Free
October 27th, 2010
8:30 am
Glovesave-great idea about moving the Glads to the AHL and the local reasons for doing so. Add to the reasons, the possibility that Atlanta may have influence on the style of play of their primary farm team. It seems that as of today, the Chicago Wolves do what they want to do and the Thrashers have little influnece on how their prospects are developed. Chicago’s “square peg” style of play rarly corresponds with Atlanta’s style.
Darkhorse
October 27th, 2010
10:24 am
It will take a new owner to make the Glads an AHL team, but that is a good idea for an ownership that’s actually interested in building a winner. Doubt the ASGoons have any desire or deep enough pockets to make that happen.
Who owns the Gladiator’s btw?
Red Light
October 27th, 2010
10:41 am
There are too many obstacles at this point in time for the Glads to become an AHL franchise. Outside of Charlotte and Norfolk, all of the other teams are too far away to make the travel financially feasible. They spend a lot of time on buses right now, but in the AHL you have to fly to some locations (Abbotsford). Ticket prices in Chicago, for example, range in price from $13.25 to $54.00. Currently, Gwinnett prices are $11 to $31 on game day. Then, you have to add increased salary costs. Plus, Atlanta has trouble finding corporate sponsors these days, and I can’t imagine it would be any easier in Gwinnett.
Certainly agree that having the Thrashers AHL team nearby would be great and the “square peg” World Be Free talked about is right on target. Chicago’s owner runs his team as if it is his own team and he’s concerned with wins and selling tickets, not player development. It’s tough finding the perfect AHL partner these days and money is a huge issue.
GaVaHokie
October 27th, 2010
11:18 am
Per Dan Kamal on Twitter… Lines from MSG: Ladd-Little-Bergfors, Thorburn-Nik-Eager, Boulton-Peverley-Stewart, Kane-Slater/Burmistrov-Modin.
Smoothie
October 27th, 2010
11:21 am
Hokie – let’s hope Modin gets the healthy scratch! I think the Kane – Burmie – Slater line could be an interesting one to watch. And Slater can win key F/O in the offensive zone I would hope.
Slater versus Christensen in the F/O circle will be the key to the game!
GaVaHokie
October 27th, 2010
11:24 am
Ladd/Little/Bergfors… this line needs to start working the way it should.
Thorsy/Nik/Eager… I like the toughness on Wing with size in the middle.
Boulton/Peverley/Stewart… this is Ramsay philosophy. You have your ‘two players’ Peverley and Stewart with the 3rd guy thrown into the mix (Boulton). Perhaps Boulton’s hard work will create space for the ‘pair’.
Kane/Slater-Burmie/Modin… hmmm, would like to see Modin benched for a Kane/Burmie/Slater experiment.
GaVaHokie
October 27th, 2010
11:25 am
Hokie – let’s hope Modin gets the healthy scratch! I think the Kane – Burmie – Slater line could be an interesting one to watch. And Slater can win key F/O in the offensive zone I would hope.
… jinx!
GaVaHokie
October 27th, 2010
11:31 am
Can’t wait to watch tonight’s game on my 17″ computer screen… argh.
Why do I feel this Fox/DISH issue gets resolved once the Hawks start playing? *shaking head*
GaVaHokie
October 27th, 2010
11:42 am
Oh well…
Per Dan Kamal and C-Viv… Looks as though Slater is healthy scratch tonight.
Red Light
October 27th, 2010
11:51 am
With the game on Fox Sports South (local broadcast), no one should be blacked out of this except for Dish customers, right?
rob
October 27th, 2010
12:11 pm
Sure would be nice to see the Byfuglien experiment on D bear fruit in the way of some thundering “I’m not going into that corner again” hits and some consistant rushes. Beginning to see it as not gonna happen. Flip side of that is the few rushes I have seen him make, there has been action around the net and scoring chances. Kulda can be the solid D we need, and Byfuglien the offensive presence we need. Modin will not be needed at that point and Bolts can be the floater. Lines could then be solidified and get going. The only reason I can see not doing this now while we can get something going is…….well what I meant to say is…….
Does Byfuglien want to be a difference maker up front or just a coaster on the blueline? We have a lot of good pieces here, they just need that “spark” and leadership…..I was hoping Antropov was the leadership part but I fear this injury will hurt him and the team by dragging on instead of given the proper time and treatment to heal and stregthen before playing him and at Center to boot.
Those that see Berfors as the “most talented” player…..he scored a few nice goals after we traded away all our goals and that excited people, but he hasn’t proven anything yet, and I question if he wants to be here or not…..either way as unproven as he really is he needs to step up and prove he is the real thing for us to play him or for someone to trade for him, IMO.
Hope they can get it going again tonight and then get payback from Buffalo the second time around…..maybe Lalime can get that start for them.
LET’S GO THRASHERS!!!!!
schroeder
October 27th, 2010
12:39 pm
I would love to see a package come together soon that would send Bergie, Modin and hopefully Hainsey to a strapped club for a top 6 forward and D-man.That just might happen around the same time a Mr Cormier comes back and maybe open up a slot for Mr Freddy The Fly. Still love the guy’s hustle.
Brendan
October 27th, 2010
12:40 pm
Blue Spark, it may be true that B. Little never gets back to 31 goals again. But, the team has to at leat TRY to get that cylinder firing again. Even if he’s only capable of 20 goals per season, that’s still pretty good. We aren’t paying him the moon and stars. I just think Little could be so much more, with a guy like Byfuglien on his forward line, to open up space, and allow him to be at his professional best.