"We win and lose as a team and it took the whole team to F*** this up!"

--Joe Cooper

"Basketball"

Tuesday for the second time in under a week the Carolina Hurricanes proved that they do not possess what it takes to stand toe-to-toe with a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, and in this case Stanley Cup champion for a complete 60 minutes of hockey. This statement is not made to be negative, but is a stone-cold fact. Based on statistical evidence.

What if I told you in the 100 plus years of the NHL there has not been one game in which one player was single-handedly and individually responsible for a loss?But let's address the subject at hand why do fanbases choose to scapegoat or designate one player as the "whipping boy" for their respective teams. Anytime Carolina loses Complainiacs take to the internet to single out one player and place the entirety of the games blame on them for losing.I don't recall Hockey ever being a 6 on 1 game, yet many fans in the Hurricanes base (and I'm sure every fan base) opt to zero in on one guy and pin the loss in him. For example the Boston game at the beginning of the month. Yes the Faulk turn over in OT was nothing short of god-awful, yet while the Complainiacs we're nailing him to the cross, I am perplexed as to why another question wasn't being asked. That question being; " Why was the game in overtime? Oh that's right the TEAM blew a 2 goal lead and went 0-5 on the power-play. So was it really all on Justin Faulk as to why the game was lost?Another example was back in December. When the team blew a 4-1 lead to the Capitals on home ice to lose 6-5 in the shootout. If you were to go back in time and read the social media comments. You would think that Scott Darling was worse than Hitler. Yet my question remains; " How was a three goal lead blown to begin with?" I mean the team obviously was able to score early in the game right? Oh thats right they became careless with the puck and started turning it over. Couple that with a few careless penalties and an Ovechkin hat trick due to lack luster TEAM defense and there is your problem. It wasn't JUST Scott Darling any more than it was Justin Faulk when the team collapses or loses every one must bare equal share. Even the "golden boys" of present and past that fans watch through rose colored classes refusing to acknowledge mistakes from.The third and most ridiculous type of pointless scapegoating is "we lost the game because of officiating! " If we're being honest officiating across the board this year has been wildly inconsistent this season no more or less for one team then the other. Yet despite what naysayers and Complainiacs may say about it, responsibility still lies with the players to overcome it. Let's go back to that December Washington Game where Jaccob Slavin was blown clearly off the coverage of Alex Ovechkin, leading to an Ovechkin goal. Yes it was a bad call, but that goal was not a game tying not game winning goal. It in fact made it a.4-3 game. Once again the TEAM failed to overcome that and it lead to a blown lead and loss. Are we noticing a trend here?This year has been a fun one. The team has been playing great hockey and in many ways over acheived. However, let's not lose sight of the fact that while this is a good hockey team it is not a great Hockey team, and anyone planning on a deep playoff run is setting themselves up for disappointment. While this team possesses a bright future they're not yet the caliber of the Washington Tampa's and Boston's of the Eastern Conference. So let's just remain patient accept the fact that hockey is a team game and enjoy the remainder of the season and playoffs.