Why is AV not trying the obvious? Henrik with Bitz

[BigRedMachine]

Well this is refreshing. Usually the second-guessing happens after the game....

[Gino Gino Gino]

Hahahahahahaha!!! AV made all you haters look stupid. . . again. Why not just trust the coach that spends every day with the players to utilize what he see's working in practice?

Now Bitz has 3 points in the two games since his promotion, and we are seeing threads about him being the next Bertuzzi (which of course is the knee jerking in the other direction now).

In AV and MG we MUST TRUST, they call the shots and if you haven't noticed, they have done a pretty good job so far.

[ynot-llat]

BUMP

Finally in the 3rd period he goes BOOTH HODGSON KESLER

which btw were dangerous every time they stepped on the ice.

not to mention the BITZ fumble, but we dont need to go there. Everybody makes mistakes and quite frankly i like his speed and strength on the puck.

[DownUndaCanuck]

Bitz is the best fit on the team for the Sedins right now and if its not obvious enough I'll try and explain why. Firstly, the Sedins scored 3 goals in a game and 1 shift with Bitz on their line, then AV goes right back to Burrows and the Sedins are shutout 2 games in a row.

Firstly, Bitz is a bigger body than Burrows and he's keeping his game simple. Bitz, unlike Burrows, is also heeding the coach's advice and is taking the puck hard to the net. He's the only one on this team right now apart from Booth who's driving the net hard and creating a net presence which is how Burrows initially had plenty of success with the Sedins, and how Hansen did in his stint with them as well. Right now Burrows is getting too involved with the Sedins cycle and it results in a vacant crease so the goalie doesn't have to worry about point-shots at all, and we never have a forward in the slot for a shot because thanks to Burrows they're all retreiving the puck along the wall.

Secondly, Bitz plays a much shorter cycle than Burrows, which benefits the Sedins style of play. Lately they're having their cycle disrupted when they try long passes along the boards, say from the half boards to behind the net, because there's more room for a defenceman to squeeze in and steal the puck. However Bitz has kept the puck very close to the net on all of his cycles - within the trapezoid. This benefits the Sedins because they're masters at the small touch passes to each other which is better done in close proximity. Also, it lets one of them or Bitz peel off to the front of the net as we saw on Daniel's goal with Bitz a while back. This would never happen with Burrows because the Sedins are too busy skating to open areas and moving around too much. Simply, Bitz isn't as good a skater as Burrows, but either are the Sedins - they work best standing still and passing short, then jumping into open space abruptly as opposed to constantly skating around in large circles which is easier to defend.

Thirdly, Bitz is far more physical than Burrows along the boards. The best way to disrupt the Sedins' cycle is to play them physically as we've seen on countless occasions, but if Bitz joins the cycle the defence is in trouble because I haven't seen anyone able to knock Bitz off the puck when he's cycling down low yet. Burrows is about as small as the Sedins so he's easily squeezed off the puck along the boards, but with Bitz not only is it harder to knock him off the puck, but one tough defenceman has to try and contain him, leaving a Sedin with a forward who isn't as physical - again a perfect example on the Daniel goal from Bitz (backhand pass).

Fourthly, Bitz is the biggest, scariest guy on our team and come playoff time, everyone will want to grab the Sedins in a headlock after a whistle. When Burrows is on their line he actually aggravates the other team more and makes them angrier, which essentially leads to a 5-on-3 in the offensive zone (our defencemen don't join the scrum or the faceoff exits the zone) and one of the Sedins are eventually grabbed. However, with Bitz we have a guy who will scare other teams from touching the Sedins. Burrows isn't scaring anyone, but no one wants to be grabbed or hit by Byron Bitz.

And for any of you who tell me "Bitz has no hands" or is just a 4th line checker, in the limited time he played with the Sedins he demonstrated skills far superior to most of our other forwards. This guy gets 1 game and 1 shift with the Sedins and dishes up 2 of the prettiest passes by a Canuck this season as well as an absolute rocket of a shot. This guy is seriously skilled and deserves to play with the twins.

Now I don't hate Burrows by any means, but his game has changed a lot since he started playing with the Sedins. Originally he kept it simple, went straight to the net and scored goals right in close but now that he understands the Sedin's cycle he tries and join it, leaving us with no net presence which is what the Sedins thrive on. Burrows has also become a better skater and stick-handler, so IMO his new style of play is far better suited to fast skaters and north-south players like Kesler, Booth, Higgins, Lapierre and Hodgson.

Here's what I would wish to see when Higgins returns, that is if AV sees what I see:

Sedin - Sedin - Bitz (reasons listed above)

Higgins - Kesler - Booth (already have great chemistry)

Burrows - Hodgson - Lapierre (Burrows and Lapierre showed nice chemistry when they were together)

Raymond - Malhotra - Hansen (these guys have all played together for long periods of time)

[bd71]

Bitz is the best fit on the team for the Sedins right now and if its not obvious enough I'll try and explain why. Firstly, the Sedins scored 3 goals in a game and 1 shift with Bitz on their line, then AV goes right back to Burrows and the Sedins are shutout 2 games in a row. Firstly, Bitz is a bigger body than Burrows and he's keeping his game simple. Bitz, unlike Burrows, is also heeding the coach's advice and is taking the puck hard to the net. He's the only one on this team right now apart from Booth who's driving the net hard and creating a net presence which is how Burrows initially had plenty of success with the Sedins, and how Hansen did in his stint with them as well. Right now Burrows is getting too involved with the Sedins cycle and it results in a vacant crease so the goalie doesn't have to worry about point-shots at all, and we never have a forward in the slot for a shot because thanks to Burrows they're all retreiving the puck along the wall. Secondly, Bitz plays a much shorter cycle than Burrows, which benefits the Sedins style of play. Lately they're having their cycle disrupted when they try long passes along the boards, say from the half boards to behind the net, because there's more room for a defenceman to squeeze in and steal the puck. However Bitz has kept the puck very close to the net on all of his cycles - within the trapezoid. This benefits the Sedins because they're masters at the small touch passes to each other which is better done in close proximity. Also, it lets one of them or Bitz peel off to the front of the net as we saw on Daniel's goal with Bitz a while back. This would never happen with Burrows because the Sedins are too busy skating to open areas and moving around too much. Simply, Bitz isn't as good a skater as Burrows, but either are the Sedins - they work best standing still and passing short, then jumping into open space abruptly as opposed to constantly skating around in large circles which is easier to defend. Thirdly, Bitz is far more physical than Burrows along the boards. The best way to disrupt the Sedins' cycle is to play them physically as we've seen on countless occasions, but if Bitz joins the cycle the defence is in trouble because I haven't seen anyone able to knock Bitz off the puck when he's cycling down low yet. Burrows is about as small as the Sedins so he's easily squeezed off the puck along the boards, but with Bitz not only is it harder to knock him off the puck, but one tough defenceman has to try and contain him, leaving a Sedin with a forward who isn't as physical - again a perfect example on the Daniel goal from Bitz (backhand pass). Fourthly, Bitz is the biggest, scariest guy on our team and come playoff time, everyone will want to grab the Sedins in a headlock after a whistle. When Burrows is on their line he actually aggravates the other team more and makes them angrier, which essentially leads to a 5-on-3 in the offensive zone (our defencemen don't join the scrum or the faceoff exits the zone) and one of the Sedins are eventually grabbed. However, with Bitz we have a guy who will scare other teams from touching the Sedins. Burrows isn't scaring anyone, but no one wants to be grabbed or hit by Byron Bitz. And for any of you who tell me "Bitz has no hands" or is just a 4th line checker, in the limited time he played with the Sedins he demonstrated skills far superior to most of our other forwards. This guy gets 1 game and 1 shift with the Sedins and dishes up 2 of the prettiest passes by a Canuck this season as well as an absolute rocket of a shot. This guy is seriously skilled and deserves to play with the twins. Now I don't hate Burrows by any means, but his game has changed a lot since he started playing with the Sedins. Originally he kept it simple, went straight to the net and scored goals right in close but now that he understands the Sedin's cycle he tries and join it, leaving us with no net presence which is what the Sedins thrive on. Burrows has also become a better skater and stick-handler, so IMO his new style of play is far better suited to fast skaters and north-south players like Kesler, Booth, Higgins, Lapierre and Hodgson. Here's what I would wish to see when Higgins returns, that is if AV sees what I see: Sedin - Sedin - Bitz (reasons listed above) Higgins - Kesler - Booth (already have great chemistry) Burrows - Hodgson - Lapierre (Burrows and Lapierre showed nice chemistry when they were together) Raymond - Malhotra - Hansen (these guys have all played together for long periods of time)

[ZeusBro]

Coho played amazing tonight probably why he was promoted to 2nd.

[DaMacNamedDre]

Bitz in Raymond out.