VANCOUVER — It took a small army of police over two hours but the chaos in downtown Vancouver is "substantially under control," said VDP spokeswoman Const. Jana McGuinness.

Downtown Vancouver descended into chaos following the 4-0 Canucks loss to the Bruins, with rioters burning cars and looting stores and brawls and fights breaking out.

McGuinness could not confirm any fatalities or whether any police officers were injured.

There were unconfirmed reports of four stabbings, she said. Police made dozens of arrests, but could not provide an exact number.

Police finally managed to gain the upper hand on Granville Street late Wednesday night, where widespread looting had taken place earlier.

Just after 11 p.m., in the aftermath of violence, the street was a deserted war zone. Very few businesses were left unscathed and sidewalks were littered with shattered glass.

One shoe store had virtually no merchandise left, while the London Drugs on Georgia and Granville, where alarms still blared, had its doors smashed in, and coat hangers and shoes strewn outside.

Unruly, booze-fuelled mobs also broke into Sears at Robson and Howe. One looter managed to break into Chapters bookstore, but apparently no one bothered entering.

Ugly brawls tinged with a racial element were seen breaking out on Granville Street as late as 11 p.m. and a police chopper circled the crowd overhead as police attempted to take control of the melee.

At a hastily called press conference, Mayor Gregor Robertson said he was disappointed at the night’s “embarrassing” turn of events.

“This is disgraceful and shameful and by no means represents the city of Vancouver,” he said. “Right now the focus is on getting people home safely. We will do what it takes.”

Robertson said a small group of troublemakers were responsible for the violence and mayhem — believed to be worse than the Stanley Cup riot of 1994.

“They will be held accountable,” he said.

Police plan to set up a tip line or an email Thursday so people can send in footage of the violence.

Solicitor-General Shirley Bond also condemned the violence: "I am disturbed that a relatively small number of people turned confrontational and engaged the Vancouver Police in such a negative way."

Police shut down bridges coming into the downtown core, while TransLink pulled all buses out of the downtown core and the SeaBus stopped ferrying passengers into Waterfront Station.

Just after 10:30 p.m., police established control of Robson Street up to Granville Street and appear ready to secure the intersection — the site of a standoff between rioters and police officers in riot gear and police dogs.

In the downtown entertainment district, a Caucasian man and a South Asian man got into a fight. The white man swore and hurled a racial epithet at the other man until another South Asian man walked him away, telling him to run. One man produced nunchuks and started to give chase.

At the corner of Dunsmuir and Cambie, rioters flipped over a Smart Car and set fire to it.