Shameful Display in Ottawa: On the Ice and on the Screen

I can imagine what a bitter bunch HABSnation might be this morning, and I can’t blame them. However, as we usually try and do here, let us focus on the positives of the situation, and therefore I can’t think of a better way to start today’s update than by announcing that the Toronto Maple Leafs are third top last in the NL standings. This is rendered even more entertaining following Newfie_Gurl29’s scouting report, that there are still people convinced that the Leafs will make the playoffs.

Now that you have a smile on your face, I’ll ask you to look to the right (if you’re reading this on the blog) and enjoy HTL’s MLF quote of the day…There you go! Now that we are in a better mood, and not thinking about yesterday’s game, let us look at the greater picture.

What is a team’s objective in the NHL in any given year? Unless you are the Philadelphia Flyers, it is to win the Stanley Cup. How does one win the cup? This happens in two steps:1) Make the playoffs & 2) Win four rounds of seven game series.

Until the second week of April, a team remains in step 1. In a bid to make the top eight, a team will also try and fight for position to have home ice advantage during the series. Are you with me so far? Of course you are, because you know ll this. Than why am I typing it all out? Because it is easy to loose sight of our main objectives/bigger picture and to dwell on detailed nuances.

The issues we’re having resonate from the same problem we have had since the beginning of the year. Perhaps the MN Historian can dig up the appropriate update where we had another mini slump, and we ended up breaking down the teams problems on a morning update. Our findings were that the majority of our major on ice problems are related to the lack of mental preparation. For those of you who may be rolling your eyes at this, don’t kid your selves. If you were watching yesterday’s game from the beginning, we were ready, we were playing great and getting the better chances….until Ottawa scored their first. Whenever we get scored on we always stop playing until a momentum shifter happens (this has been a trend since the beginning – an issue related to lack of mental preparation). Unfortunately the Ottawa Senators were really hungry for a win, and never slowed down. Our troops just gave up more, and more with each goal being potted.

So let us summarise what I am trying to convey here. I’m not saying life is grand and everything is going great, and Lord Stanley’s Cup is as good as ours…far from it. But what I am saying is that things are not as bad as they seem…not even close. The fix for our problems (compared to what other teams in the NHL have to endure) are relatively straightforward. And with the likes of Bob Gainey at the top, you can bet your derrier that these issues are being addressed as we speak. Coupled with the fact that we are trying to fix these issues from 4^th place, and not playing catch-up from 10^th place, I can sleep much better at night.

I know today’s update is getting really long, but there is one more thing I have to point out, and that is my disgust with the Ottawa Senators’ organisation. What kind of low life, ignorant, heartless, disgusting moron decided to play that animation between the 1^st and 2^nd period?!?!?! :cens: :rant: (for those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, they showed an animation of a ship in the water with two characters on it... a person with a HABS jersey, and the Senators’ mascot…and the Senators’ mascot pushes the character with the HABS jersey in to the water, who gets washed/drifted away) This was met with vicious boos by most fans in the arena, but I highly doubt that was any condolence to the Gainey family. Shame on who ever decided to put that up!