June 15, 2011: Look, I didn't want the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup, either. But when they did, I just moped a bit, and talked about how they had to have cheated.
I've seen my teams have their shares of winning, and their shares of losing. But when they lost, I didn't do anything like this.
Just a little over a year earlier, Vancouver had hosted the Winter Olympics, and it was a phenomenal success. Now, the Vancouver Canucks were in the Stanley Cup Finals for the 3rd time, having lost to the New York Islanders in 1982 and the New York Rangers in 1994. After losing to the Rangers, Canucks fans launched a minor riot in Vancouver.
The Canucks won Game 1, 1-0 at Rogers Arena, when Raffi Torres scored with 19 seconds left in regulation. They won Game 2, 3-2, when Alex Burrows scores 11 seconds into overtime. The Canucks were sitting pretty going to Boston.
But Game 3 at the TD Garden was a slaughter, as the Bruins win, 8-1. The Bruins also took Game 4, 4-0. Game 5 in Vancouver was similar to the 1st 2 there, with Maxim Lapierre scoring early in the 3rd period, and the Canucks won, 1-0.
The Bruins hadn't won the Cup since 1972, losing the Finals in 1974, 1977, 1978, 1988 and 1990. But they had won it before. The Canucks had played since 1970, but hadn't won the Cup. Not since the 1925 Victoria Cougars had a team from British Columbia won it. And not since the 1915 Millionaires had a Vancouver team done so. All the Canucks had to do was win Game 6 in Boston; failing that, Game 7 at home.
But Game 6 was a disaster. Canuck forward Mason Raymond suffered a fractured vertebra only 20 seconds into the game, on an awkward hit into the boards by Bruin defenseman Johnny Boychuk -- not to be confused with the Bruins' 1970 and '72 Cup-winning Captain, Johnny Bucyk -- and had to be taken to the hospital.
What's more, the ice at the TD Garden was soft, almost slushy, apparently designed to slow the Canucks down. The Bruins scored four goals in a span of 4:14 in the 1st period, breaking the record for the quickest 4 goals tallied by one team in the Cup Finals. The Bruins went on to win, 5–2. More cheating in a big moment by a New England sports team.
It was the 18th time the Bruins were in the Stanley Cup Finals. Oddly, it was the 1st time they went to a Game 7 in the round. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand each scored 2 goals, and the Bruins went on to win, 4-0. The Bruins had their 1st Cup win in 39 years. In mid-game, I wrote on Facebook:
(George Carlin word), another championship handed to Boston. Thanks a lot for not enforcing the rules or keeping the TD Garden ice suitable, NHL refs & Commissioner Gary Bettman! Maybe the Canucks can come back from 3-0 down with 12 to go and force one of those epic Boston chokes... and maybe I can flap my arms and fly to the Moon.
Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara with the Cup
Vancouver fans, who had come out into downtown before the game, expecting the biggest party in the city's history, were, naturally, even angrier than I was. They began smashing windows, overturning cars, looting stores, setting things on fire.
The riot was bigger than the one they had when they lost in 1994. No deaths were reported, but 3 out of 140 injuries were reported to be critical. The damage toll was put at $4 million Canadian.
It was the 1st major sports-related riot of the social media era, and many people recorded themselves committing acts of vandalism. This was used by the police to make it backfire on them, and many people were arrested, and some lost their jobs and the college scholarships, as a result.
The Canucks have never been back to the Finals. The Bruins made it in 2013 and 2019, but lost.
UPDATE: The Canucks have retired 6 uniform numbers: 10, for 1990s right wing Pavel Bure; 12, for 1980s right wing Stan Smyl; 16, for 1990s and 2000s center Trevor Linden; 19, for 2000s left wing Markus Näslund, 22 for 2000s and 2010s left wing Daniel Sedin, and 33 for his twin brother, 2000s and 2010s center Henrik Sedin.
In addition to their retired numbers, they have a Ring of Honour. The inductees are: 1970s center Orlando Kurtenbach, 1970s defenseman Harold Senpsts, 1980s center Thomas Gradin, 1990s head coach and general manager Pat Quinn, 1990s goaltender Kirk McLean, 2000s defenseman Mattias Öhlund, 2010s right wing Alex Burrows, and 2010s goaltender Roberto Luongo.
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June 15, 2011 was a Wednesday. Football was out of season. The NBA season had ended 3 days earlier, with the San Antonio Spurs beating the Miami Heat in 6 games. And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New Yankees beat the Texas Rangers, 12-4 at the new Yankee Stadium. Iván Nova was the winning pitcher. Mark Teixeira hit 2 home runs. Homers were also hit by Eduardo Núñez (playing shortstop in place of Derek Jeter), Ramiro Peña and Robinson Canó. Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.
* The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-0 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. It took 4 pitchers -- Dillon Gee for 4 innings, D.J. Carrasco for 2, Bobby Parnell (the winning pitcher) for 2, and Francisco Rodríguez for 1 -- to finish a 2-hit shutout.
* The Philadelphia Phillies swept a doubleheader from the Florida Marlins, 8-1 and 5-4 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Phils trailed the nightcap 4-2 going into the bottom of the 9th, but tied it up. Ryan Howard led off the bottom of the 10th by being hit with a pitch from Mike Dunn. Domonic Brown drew a walk, and then Carlos Ruiz singled Howard home to win it.
* The Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-0 at Nationals Park in Washington. Liván Hernández pitched a 3-hit shutout, backed by 2 home runs from Mike Morse, and 1 each by Danny Espinosa and Jayson Werth.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Josh Beckett allowed just 1 hit: A single by Reid Brignac in the 3rd inning. He didn't walk anybody, either. Good night for Boston teams.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 7-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 9-5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-1 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 6-3 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the O.co Coliseum).
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-1 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.
