Toews 'Expected' Riot From Vancouver After Cup Loss
CHICAGO (CBS) Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals didn't go the way the Vancouver Canucks fans wanted it to go: Roberto Luongo gave up three goals on 20 shots and they saw Boston raise the Stanley Cup in Vancouver.
Even before the game was over, there were reports of riots starting to break out throughout downtown Vancouver. After the game ended the riots intensified, and as pictures, video and first-hand accounts of the riots began to flow in, many were shocked by the destruction the fans caused to their own city.
Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, however, wasn't surprised at all.
"I kind of expected that," Toews told the Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc. "Those fans are crazy. When we beat them the last couple of years they were throwing stuff on the ice. They're crazy fans and obviously passionate about their team. I kind of expected a reaction one way or another."
This year marked the third consecutive postseason where the Blackhawks and Canucks played each other. It was another chapter in a growing rivalry that saw the Blackhawks come back from a three-game deficit. But an overtime loss to the Canucks in Game 7 knocked the Blackhawks out of the playoffs, and sent them home to watch Vancouver make a run to the Stanley Cup Finals.
With no love lost between the Blackhawks and Canucks, Toews, like the rest of his teammates, was pulling for the Bruins.
"I watched all the games in Boston and I watched Game 7," Toews told Kuc. "Our guys had been kind of joking in the classiest way possible about keeping our fingers crossed for Boston. You never want to see your rivals take it home. It was a heck of a series to watch."
Toews is a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, which will be given out at the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Toews is a finalist along with members of two rival teams: Ryan Kesler of the Canucks and Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings. The Selke Trophy is given to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.
