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."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Lanny McDonald and a few old Flames take the Stanley Cup on a surprise visit to the man who saved his life
The Stanley Cup was passing through town Friday, and Lanny Legend took it upon himself to take it for a surprise visit.
Bathroom break nearly derails $22 million project at city council meeting
A brief break during Wednesday's city council meeting in Saskatoon nearly cost the city dearly.
Chad Daybell sentenced to death for killing wife and girlfriend’s two children in jury decision
Jurors resumed deliberations Saturday on whether a man should be sentenced to death after being convicted days earlier of the murders of his wife and his girlfriend’s two youngest children in Idaho.
Robert Pickton stabbed with toothbrush and broken broom handle: victim's family
The family of one of Robert Pickton's victims says the convicted serial killer suffered an incredibly violent death at the hands of another inmate.
Father who killed one-year-old son with axe may be allowed to travel in southwestern Ontario
A Mennonite father who killed his one-year-old son with an axe may be allowed to travel to parts of southern Ontario in the coming months
'It feels like freedom': Why some Albertans like going nude in nature
Few people can say they accidentally purchased a nude beach — but Shelley can. When she saw a piece of land she could fondly remember camping on was up for sale, she inquired about it and ended up purchasing it. She soon found that there were already inhabitants on it.
This Calgary home has a giant tree in the middle, and it's for sale
There's a luxury 'tree home' for sale in Calgary.
China lands spacecraft on the moon amid growing space rivalry with U.S.
A Chinese spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon Sunday to collect soil and rock samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side.
Pedestrian dies after being hit by train in Brockville, Ont.
Brockville Police says a pedestrian has died following a collision with a train that was heading to Toronto.