Old allegiances and longtime loyalties have some Canadians hoping that the Vancouver Canucks don't bring the cup home.
As the Canucks continue to fight the Boston Bruins in a bid to end the nation's 18-year-long Stanley Cup drought, some Canadians insist it isn't unpatriotic to root for the other team.
For Ottawa resident Craig Baumken, the Bruins are more alluring because they were one of the first teams in the NHL.
"Even though I'm Canadian, it's Bobby Orr and the history of the Bruins and an Original Six team in the Stanley Cup finals," he said.
Some hockey fans downright deny the idea that the Canucks are Canada's team.
"If you did a poll in Canada, maybe the West Coast would be for the Canucks, but everything east of Manitoba would be Bruins fans," Mark Beaudoin, himself loyal to the Bruins, told CTV News.
Canucks centre Manny Malhotra is unfazed by the idea of hometown allegiances.
"We've done a good job of playing for ourselves, for our fans," he said. "Whoever wants to jump on board can come along for the ride."
Still, diehard Canucks fans are quick to defend their territory, some going so far as to heckle the parents of Bruin Johnny Boychuk when they arrived to watch a game in Vancouver earlier this month.
The couple was reportedly sprayed with beer in the rink and threatened outside the arena.
"I don't care if I ever go back there," Boychuk's mother, Audrey, said of Vancouver.
But what if Game Five takes the Bruins back to B.C.?
"I think I'd prefer to watch it on TV," she said.
With a report by CTV's Roger Smith in Ottawa
