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The day has finally come. The game day which many fans had circled on their calendars since March 27th 2012 has finally arrived as the Calgary Flames will take on Jarome Iginla and the Boston Bruins tonight, at home.
As my blog from yesterday touched upon, tonight’s game is certainly going to be an emotional one for fans, former players, but most importantly former Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla who still maintains that Calgary is home.
Traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins last year before the trade deadline kicked in, the former captain played a total of 28 games with Crosby and Malkin while also registering 23pts. The reasoning behind the trade, at least for Iginla, was to give the veteran winger a chance to move on to a team who had a chance at winning a Stanley Cup before the 36 year old was set to retire. Only getting to the 3rd round of the 2013 NHL Playoffs with the Pens, Iginla decided to try his luck with the Bruins in the offseason when he signed a one year, $1.8M contract.
Since signing with the Bruins, Jarome has done quite well for himself and his new team, registering 17pts in 30 games played. While not exactly one of his best starts to the season, Iginla has taken a less prominent role with the Bruins than he was accustomed to while playing with the Flames over the past decade.
That said, the Bruins are one of the NHL’s hottest teams at the moment, and Iginla may just be awarded with a Stanley Cup at the end of the season if they are able to surpass teams such as the Ducks and or Hawks who are tied for first in the league.
Tonight will be a very strong game for the Calgary Flames in spite of a few key injuries and suspensions which the Bruins have suffered of late. Expected out of the lineup for Boston will be Adam McQuaid (lower body), Dougie Hamilton (lower body), Chris Kelly (ankle), Loui Eriksson (concussion), and Shawn Thornton (suspended), while for the Flames they are still missing Dennis Wideman (hand), Sean Monahan (foot), Curtis Glencross (knee), and T.J. Galiardi (back).
While the Flames themselves have suffered and played through much adversity and injuries this year, it appears as though they may be back to a full healthy roster soon as Curtis Glencross was practicing with the team yesterday afternoon. Out since November 5th, the veteran forward will be strongly welcomed by the team and their coaching staff, though a timeline is still uncertain at this point. Additionally, TJ Galiardi has been feeling better and is also expected to return soon, despite experiencing more issues than he originally thought.
“It took longer than I thought it would, but it could have been worse if it was a disc issue,… said Galiardi, who last played Nov. 20, was a healthy scratch a couple days later and then was sent to the infirmary.“I was crawling to the bathroom for two days. I couldn’t move.…
Moving back into the game tonight, there are no expected lineup changes for the Flames from their previous game, however Derek Smith cleared waivers and was sent to the AHL Heat, opening up a roster spot in case any of the above mentioned players are ready to go. Although most fans have been anticipating tonight’s game, the players themselves have also kept an eye on the game sheet once it was released to find out when the two teams would meet. Flames newest captain Mark Giordano is one of the players who was looking forward to the game as he and Iginla spent many years playing alongside each other.
"It'd be pretty hard to believe he wouldn't get a very warm reception," said Mark Giordano, who inherited Calgary's captaincy from Iginla. "He meant a lot to this organization. He's such a good guy. It goes without saying."He's a Hall-of-Fame player. In my opinion probably the most recognizable Flame that this organization looked to for a long time. He was a big part of our team. He was a great guy. Obviously last year it was tough to see him go but [Tuesday] is going to be special."
"What I took from [Iginla] was the way he treated people and the respect he showed for everyone, really," he said. "Me coming in here from my first year to playing with him last year, he treats you with a lot of respect, he's very kind and you can learn a lot from a guy like that in how he treats other people.
Even players who only grew up watching Iginla play and never actually had the chance to play with him had a very good understanding of just what kind of player he really was.
"Talking with guys that played with him, it was not like he was putting on a charade for the fans and behind closed doors he was different," Colborne said. "He was the stand-up guy that everyone thought he was and it's going to be a fun game, not just because of that but because the fans are going to be excited and it's going to be a great atmosphere."
All professional athletes in their own right, these players maintain that while tonight will likely be an emotional night for Iginla, they are here to compete and will play just as hard as they would with any other team on any other night. Iginla is known for his tenacity and gritty play throughout his career, and tonight should be no different as he is likely to take a few former teammates hard to the boards.
Below are the expected lineups for the Calgary Flames, as Reto Berra gets his second straight start.
Cammalleri – Stajan - Stempniak Baertschi – Colborne - Hudler Bouma – Backlund – D. Jones B. Jones – Byron - McGrattan
Russell - Brodie Giordano - Smid Butler - O’Brien
Berra
Thanks for reading!