OPEN LETTER TO THE HABS AND THEIR FANS

To the greatest NHL team of all time,

As much as I love you all, there are some things I need to get off of my chest after your mediocre (that’s putting it nicely) showing versus the Caps tonight.

First of all, you are all better than you think, and although there are some of you (ahem… Kovalev, Tanguay, Plekanec, Kostitsyns S & A, etc…) who need to regain your scoring touch, I think that the rest of you are relying on these players and not stepping up enough yourselves. Kovy may have been your saviour last year, but I think it’s time to realize that you can’t win based on one person’s performance. Hockey is team sport, so play it like one.

Second, the powerplay. I don’t care if you skate on your heads, or have Jaro come up and shoot the puck himself, but someone…. STEP UP AND SCORE! You can do it 5 on 5 but yet, when you have the advantage, you’re at a disadvantage… does this make any sense at all??? Cuz I’m at loss.

Third, Ovechkin makes pretty plays. Yes, we all see them. But that doesn’t give you the excuse to just watch him, and his highly talented linemates come flying down the ice, leaving your goaltender stranded. So next time, try skating and a little physical play. A few hits go a long way.

Fourth, speaking of goalies… Jaro Halak deserves a good showing from the rest of you. This is the second time he played a great game against Washington, and the second time the rest of the team was less than stellar. Carey Price is sick and possibly injured… Jaro’s going to need your support.

Fifth, somehow it seems that half the team is nursing some type of injury. The rest of you need to make up for it! Kudos to Josh Gorges for more than making up for Mike Komisarek’s absence in the lineup… Now we need someone to fill in for Koivu, and honestly that means you Kovy. You wore the “C” on your jersey tonight, so should therefore accept the responsibility, and be a leader. No more stupid penalties. Though you are different types of leaders (Koivu is emotional and you are task oriented) the key to your success as a team is the tandem that exists between the two of you. The team needs Koivu because he inspires the rest to step up and leads by example by bringing it every shift of every game. Kovy calls people out when they aren’t playing well, and brings that much needed offensive boost. So Kovy, work on finding that while Saku’s out, and if you’ve found it once he’s back, the team will be very well rounded.

Sixth, and this is to the fans, I can’t take the fact that after 3 straight wins and then an overtime loss there is talk of the need for the whole team to be traded. Also don’t see how booing the home team supports them, and how it in any way helps them improve. They’ve got real potential here, so stop antagonizing them: it makes it worse, not better.

Lastly, you guys are a really talented group, and just need to find yourselves… stop thinking about how many missed opportunities you’ve had, and start thinking about how many you’ve taken adavntage of. Just get on the ice and put your hearts into the game and you’ll get results. Yes, you do need to play 60 minutes to win a hockey game. Stop saying it and go out and do it. I know you can win and go far. You have 2 talented goalies and an awesome defense, and you should at least take pride in that, even if your offense is lacking of late. You are the ones who have the ability to change things, so if you want a change to be made, as a team you need to do something about it. That’s the only way to be successful… TEAMWORK!

Anyway, keep at it, you guys can do it!

Yours truly,
habsbloggergirl