Calgary Flames
Playoff bandwagoning: Jarome Iginla and the Boston Bruins
Calgary isn't in the playoffs, but one guy we all know and dearly love certainly is.
So, your team didn’t make the playoffs this year. For us, as pitiful Flames fans, it is a sad truth we all know far too well: five straight years and counting. That leaves us with pretty much three choices:
To quickly recap the Bruins' season: they scored 117 points, the best team in the league. The President's Trophy winners got 51 wins in regulation or overtime, 23 more than the Flames. They scored the third most goals in the league and let in only the second fewest for a league-best +84 goal differential (second place were Anaheim and St. Louis, both with +57).
Here's the key difference between the Bruins and the Ducks and Avs: the Bruins were one of the top possession teams of the regular season, while the Ducks and Avs were not. Boston was fourth in the league in fenwick close at 54.1%. Anaheim, meanwhile, was only 15th at 50.2%, and Colorado finished 27th at 46.8% (to put that into perspective, uh… the Flames finished 26th at 47.3%, and you don't exactly see the Flames in the playoffs, do you?).
So while the Bruins were lucky, they were also just flat out good. If you're on their team, and you're not on the fourth line, you're a positive possession player.
If he's going to win a Cup – and he better – then this could very well be the year it happens. He's fit as hell; still scoring at an impressive rate; on an elite, seemingly charmed team; and playing in front of a really good Finnish goaltender.
And if cheering for the Bruins gives you any second thoughts – because, let's be honest, Boston sports – then remember two things:
- The Bruins are heroes. They stopped the Canucks in 2011, and we are all eternally grateful.
- Ray Bourque. Longtime (or at least knowledgable) Bruins fans know exactly what we, as Flames fans, are going through with Iggy.
It's an absolute hell of a team to bandwagon, and if you're a Flames fan, you've got a hell of a good excuse to do it. So… let's go Bruins, yeah? Let's go Iggy!
by Ari Yanover