When it comes to the 'just get in' argument, it matters what team you are referring to.
When Flame fans lament this comment, it is because they are thinking about past, bubble teams, that squeaked into the playoffs, but had no realistic chance of beating any good teams.
However, the teams listed above were all very good teams that were built for playoff success. For teams like that, where they finish in the regular season was in fact irrelevant - they were teams that had a legitimate chance to win some playoff series.
The question for this year's Flames team is; are they a bubble team that will be setting themselves up to waste 8 days, or are they like the teams above - a solid team that can do damage in the playoffs?
IMO, they are very much the latter. Also, the Pacific is very much a division ripe for the picking. So I think it is very fair to suggest that the Flames 'just need to get in and anything could happen'.
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