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Hamrlik says Caps still aren’t following Hunter’s system

Washington Capitals v Toronto Maple Leafs

TORONTO, CANADA - NOVEMBER 19: Roman Hamrlik #44 of the Washington Capitals shoots during warm-up before NHL action against the Toronto Maple Leafs at The Air Canada Centre November 19, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Abelimages/Getty Images)

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Another day, another story about the Washington Capitals failing to execute the game plan.

This time it’s defenseman Roman Hamrlik trumpeting the need to buy what coach Dale Hunter is selling.

“When you play the game long enough you know how to play,” Hamrlik said, as per CSNWashington.com. “We haven’t changed the system. We should know the system. The coaches believe in the system and we should believe in it, too.

“We need to stick with it for 60 minutes. Otherwise, you go other ways. Some guys go one way, some guys go the other way. That’s not going to work. We have to play 20 guys together and compete every shift.”

Hunter’s been imploring his troops to chip and chase when the opponent stacks the blue line, which for professional hockey players isn’t exactly rocket science.

He also advocates a man-on-man defense, which probably isn’t drawn up like this: