Hundreds of people gathered at Vancouver’s Oak Meadows Park Sunday evening for the city’s first official public Canucks watch party.
At its peak, around 500-600 people gathered at the South Cambie Park for the family-friendly event.
Lots of smiles were shining at the event with families sprawled across the field.
Fan reaction was far from muted but not nearly as loud or high energy as a sports bar or the arena.
“I think it’s incredible. It’s great for families, I can’t take my whole family to a game. I don’t have that, and I [have] a two-year-old, and she gets to be a part of this and I think that’s special,” one person said Sunday night.
Arturs Silovs stopped 42 of 45 shots to help the Vancouver Canucks edge out a win over the Edmonton Oilers in their first road game of the series Sunday.
The Canucks took game three of the Stanley Cup Playoff series with a final score of 4-3.
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, while Elias Lindholm also scored twice for Vancouver. Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller each contributed a pair of assists.
Many CityNews spoke to said they purposely came early to avoid the hassle of parking but a majority lived within walking distance or took transit.
“It was good for us. We parked a block and a half away just by VanDusen and right on the street,” another explained.
The abundance of space allowed for fans to jump in excitement and throw their towels and hats in the air when the Canucks managed to get one passed Edmonton’s goal tender.
“[We were] kept on the edge of your seat. Well, a blanket, not a real seat. … But it was a great time,” another man said. “There was a little bit of sweat at the end, but we pulled away, and that’s all you can ask for really.”
-With files from The Canadian Press