Edmonton, Vancouver fans gear up for all-Canadian NHL playoff series

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Long before he was known as “Superfan Magoo,” Blair Gladue lived with his grandparents in a log house in Calling Lake, Alta., with a tiny television that got only one channel.

On Saturday nights, his grandfather would place him in front of the TV for the only show that mattered: Hockey Night in Canada.

“I’ve lived and breathed the Oilers all my life,” Mr. Gladue said. He got his nickname during the playoff run that took the Edmonton team to the Stanley Cup finals in 2006, and is a fixture with his elaborate outfits, drum and enthusiastic energy.

“As an Edmonton Oilers fan – during the playoffs especially – when you’re in the crowd or you’re out in the streets, you’re family. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, you’re family. It brings people together, and that is most important thing.”

On Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks meet for the first game in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the last two teams with a shot to end Canada’s 31-year trophy drought.

For fans such as Mr. Gladue, it’s go time: “I’m feeling excited, anxious, nervous, all of the emotions right now,” he said, wearing an Oilers hoodie, a beaded Oilers medallion and an Oilers Turtle Island logo hat.

“This is the third year in a row we’ve made the second round … so this year, we’re going to get over that second-round hump, and we will win the Stanley Cup. Hopefully.”

In Vancouver, meanwhile, longtime Canucks fan Paul Robles was also steeling himself for the emotional rigour of the playoff run.

A fan since he was 8, Mr. Robles has had his hopes crushed in the finals. His team, one of the oldest in the NHL to have never won the cup, was defeated by the New York Islanders in 1982, the New York Rangers in 1994 and the Boston Bruins in 2011.

“I’ve been waiting so long,” he said. “I’m saving a spot on my arm to get a Canuck tattoo when we win.”

Mr. Robles said he plans to wear his vintage Flying V jersey for puck drop on Wednesday. He’ll put it on again if they win, but ditch it if they don’t.

“I like watching the games with my son,” he said. “Usually, when there’s a big goal, we get up and just act like a bunch of idiots jumping up and down, screaming and we’re hugging each other. It’s a good time for father-son bonding.”

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But, no matter which team wins, he said the outcome will be the same: “This time, I hope it will be tears of joy instead of tears of sadness.”

The Oilers are the top team in the NHL for jersey sales, and at ICE District Authentics, jerseys were flying out the door in advance of the second-round series. (Oversized chains, and cutoff overalls have also been very popular.)

Beader Jolene Chretien said she’d barely finished some new pairs of Oilers-themed earrings and posted them on Facebook, when they were immediately scooped up by fans looking for playoff bling.

“I love Oilers, I’m a huge supporter, and I thought it would bring them good luck‚” said Ms. Chretien, who said she brings her support of the team to her creations through smudging and ceremony.

“The energy you put into it when you’re doing this is huge. So while I’m beading I’m just visualizing this is a good-luck charm, they’re going to win.”

Franco Camminatore, general manager of the 1st RND sports bar in downtown Edmonton, said every one of the bar’s 50 TVs would be tuned to the game.

“Even if you’re just a casual fan, you like being part of the group, being part of the energy that it brings,” he said.

“Everyone loves seeing someone win, especially if they’re from your hometown. It’s such a big part of Edmonton’s identity.”

Though Edmonton and Vancouver aren’t traditionally rivals, the playoffs do have a way of bringing out the competition. While the provinces’ premiers engaged in a light-hearted bet, one restaurant in British Columbia found itself embroiled uncomfortably in the contest.

A letterboard sign in support of the Oilers outside the Boston Pizza in Penticton, B.C., sparked a minor social-media frenzy among Canucks fans, who argued the restaurant should support the home team – despite the chain actually having originated in Edmonton. Some Vancouver faithful even called for a boycott.

Boston Pizza bowed to pressure and realigned its support for the Canucks. But local media, on Tuesday, reported another significant sign change. There are now both team logos, and the key question: “Who will bring the cup home.”