When Maxim Lapierre slipped what would become the game-winning goal past Tim Thomas in the third period of the Vancouver Canucks win over the Boston Bruins Friday night, nearly 20,000 fans erupted inside the arena, shaking the rafters in a frenzy of celebration.
But it was on the streets outside the arena where the demons of two bitter losses were truly exorcised, where 100,000 more Canucks fans -- dressed almost entirely in shirts and jerseys emblazoned with team logos -- collectively exhaled in a heavy crush of cheers, honking horns and even tears.
With their 1-0 win Friday, the Vancouver Canucks recovered momentum in the Stanley Cup Finals, after losing the previous two games in Boston in inglorious fashion.
The losses had sent chills through the team's millions of supporters, who had been brimming with confidence after late-game heroics earned the Canucks a 2-0 series lead. Friday's win put Vancouver up 3-2 in the series and one game away from winning the Stanley Cup.
The post-game celebration did not disappoint. Women wearing little more than a thin layer of Canuck-themed body paint streamed through the cheering crowd as men with painted faces, tinfoil Stanley Cup headwear and decades-old jerseys pounded fists in the air, breaking out it song with little prompting.
"I thought the Canucks came back and they did a stellar performance, it was everything they needed to do," said Allan Wynnyk, 31, from Langley, B.C., while celebrating outside the Rogers Arena.
Vancouver police said that considering the size of the crowd gathered downtown to watch Game 5, there were very few incidents of vandalism or crime. Police spokesman Const. Lindsey Houghton said the mood remained celebratory.
On its Twitter feed, the Vancouver Police Department noted: "Drinking in public: $230. Peeing in public: $230. Watching a playoff game with thousands of new fans: priceless."
Polarizing goaltender Roberto Luongo earned the Game 5 shut out after allowing a total of 12 goals in Games 3 and 4.
Luongo received a joyous standing ovation after the shut out -- a far cry from the derisive cheer from Vancouver fans gave when he was pulled in his losing cause two days earlier. Canucks fans will need more from the goalie if they want to celebrate again.
"Luongo's got to come up big," fan Rylan Kerper said while celebrating after the win.
With Friday's win, Vancouver needs only one more game to complete their quest for the Stanley Cup. They could close the season off with a win in Boston on Monday.
Houghton says that tens of thousands of fans will gather for that game, watching on jumbotrons and televisions downtown. He said Vancouver police say they will be ready for whatever comes.
If they fall short in Boston, the series will return to Vancouver on Wednesday for a final Game 7.
More than 100,000 fans will also return to the streets outside Rogers Arena, and a win that night could prompt a celebration larger even that the Olympic hockey gold medal win.
With files from The Canadian Press
