LA Kings Twitter tweet sends Canucks fans' fir flying - Vancouver Sun (blog)

The Vancouver Canucks, it would seem, aren’t well-liked across Canada, and the L.A. Kings official Twitter account was quick to jump on that following a 4-2 win over the home team Wednesday night at Rogers Arena.

Dustin Penner scored the game-winning goal late in the third period to give the eighth-place Kings what would be a 4-2 win and a 1-0 series lead over the Canucks in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final.

The victory led to this tweet from the L.A. Kings official Twitter account @LAKings.

Needless to say, this has garnered a massive reaction from many corners of  the Twitterverse.

“seriously, show some class. That’s rude. If you win I will congratulate you. If you lose I will cheer my team but not mock you,” wrote @canadakate123.

“What a classy organization you have there. There are Canucks fans world wide. Try not to be sore winners please,” added @lolosum.

The original tweet has been, as of Thursday morning, retweeted more than 11,000 times…and counting.

“We encourage our digital team to be creative, interactive and to apply a sense of humour whenever possible. To anyone who found it offensive, we sincerely apologize,” said  Kings VP of communications and broadcasting Michael Altieri.

Altieri would not discuss whether the individual would face any discipline, but said there had been internal discussions within the organization since the tweet was sent out.

“It’s definitely a philosophical approach we choose to take. We believe in engagement is first and foremost in all our digital strategies because we feel with engagement it will bring types of things we want for our business, for our organization over time,” said Altieri.

Of course, it followed on the heels of an emotional game, one in which the Kings were full marks for winning.

Canucks fans criticized the officiating throughout the game â€" Vancouver was short-handed eight times, compared to five times for the Kings.

It’s also possible Canucks fourth-line forward Byron Bitz receives a suspension from the NHL for hitting Kyle Clifford’s head into the boards from behind.

Bitz received a major for boarding and was kicked out of the game. Clifford, 21, didn’t return.

Combine an uproar over officiating, so early in these playoffs, with last year’s Stanley Cup final run, which ended in a heartbreaking loss in Game 7 and a riot that turned the downtown core into a temporary war zone, and it’s becoming more apparent the Canucks just aren’t everybody’s favourite across the country.

A recent Angus Reid poll shows only 35 per cent of Canadians are rooting for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Canucks this post-season.

All this and it’s only the day after Game 1 of the first round.

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