Canucks and Oilers fan rivalry heating up online on eve of Game 1

As the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers prepare for the puck to drop on Game 1 of their second-round playoff series, fans of both teams are already cranking up the temperature with chirps on social media.

One Facebook group called "Oilers Fans in the Lower Mainland (and anywhere in BC)" offers a safe space for diehards living in enemy territory.

According to group member Tamara Bingley, a Coquitlam resident, Oilers fans can sometimes get a frosty reception on the west coast.

"I'll be walking my dog and I'll be wearing an Oilers hat and my dog has an Oilers bandana, so people see, and I see them staring at me. Once in a while I'll see someone shake their head,” she said.

In Penticton, one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, called for a boycott of the local Boston Pizza franchise after seeing a sign outside the restaurant supporting the Oilers.

"You know, maybe that's a little extreme,” said Canucks fan Quinn Edmondson, outside the team store at Rogers Arena. “We don't need to boycott a whole restaurant just for that."

The sign at the restaurant has since been updated and now says "Bring the cup home. Let’s go Canucks," but it’s not clear if the social media storm played a role in the decision to change it.

Predicting a tense playoff battle between the divisional rivals, Edmonton Journal reporter Robert Tychkowski did his best to stoke the fan rivalry in an article published Tuesday.

“The sushi dens and granola taverns will be on edge, you can count on it,” he wrote, adding “how sweet it would be for Oil Country to take down the anti-pipeline crowd.”

Canucks fans who spoke to CTV News are taking the online discourse in stride.

"I mean, it's fun. It's playoff hockey. It's bound to happen. But it's exciting,” said Amrita Dhillon, who predicts a Vancouver win in seven games.

As the players continue to prepare for Wednesday night’s series opener, Canucks coach Rick Tocchet doesn’t think it will take long for the animosity between the teams to build on the ice.

"There's only eight teams left. Edmonton's in our way,” he said. “And we're in their way. That's a rivalry to me."