The growing outdoor gatherings set up for fans to watch the Canucks in the Stanley Cup final seem more like beach parties than hockey parties as thousands gather under bright, sunny skies for Game 2.

The City of Vancouver set up two giant screens in the downtown core with space for thousands of fans, and both were almost near capacity in the hour before the puck dropped Saturday, with lineups of people who would be forced to find somewhere else to watch.

Spectators in blue and green Canucks jerseys, shorts and shades sat on lawn chairs while some tossed around beach balls.

Chants of "We want the cup!" alternated with "Bruins suck!" -- particularly when a rare, but conspicuous, fan in a Boston Bruins jersey was spotted in the crowd.

Keith Tindel, 57, relaxed in a lawn chair in the middle of the action, noted it's rare to be watching hockey in Vancouver at this time of year.

"This is June and it's Vancouver and they're still playing, and it's beautiful and sunny and warm and we've got all the atmosphere down here," Tindel said.

"It's great."

It was a not-so-subtle acknowledgment that the Canucks are usually finished playing hockey by now. The team hasn't made the Stanley Cup final since 1994, and it's never won the cup in its four-decade history.

But Tindel said this year is different, especially after last Wednesday's Game 1 victory, when the Canucks defeated the Bruins 1-0 with a last-minute goal at the end of the third period.

"They've been building on it for a few years now," Tindel said.

"For the city and Vancouver, they've been waiting for so long for this to happen, and it feels like it's a special group of players."

The city's downtown has erupted in celebrations after every playoff win, and the parties have been growing each time the Canucks have advanced.

With the beautiful weather on a Saturday evening, the night's post-game party could be the largest yet -- especially if the Canucks win.

It's an atmosphere that has drawn constant comparisons to last year's Winter Olympics, when the streets were flooded with people in what felt like a two-week party.

Erin Dalton found a place to sit in front of a screen on popular Granville Street two hours before the start of the game.

Dalton, 38, was quick to bring up the Olympics, but then she corrected herself. It's sort of like the Olympics, she said, but it's a bigger deal.

"It's like the Olympics, it's once-in-a-lifetime, so when it happens in your hometown, you have to come out," she said.

"But not really, it's different. It's more homegrown, so I think it means a little more."

Dalton is what's known as a bandwagon fan. She's never really been interested in hockey, but the excitement of the Stanley Cup playoffs has drawn her in -- maybe even to stay.

"I haven't been (a fan) in the past, but I might be now," she said.

"I've never been a big hockey fan, but this is pretty exciting. They're going to take it, absolutely."

Other cities in the Lower Mainland have set up similar outdoor celebration sites. During the away games in Boston, fans will be able to watch on screens inside Rogers Arena.

Like the Olympics, the crowds downtown have been relatively well-behaved during the Canucks' playoff run.

After Game 1 last Wednesday, Vancouver police said they made only a few arrests, mostly for public intoxication, and broke up a few fights.

The Vancouver Police Department expects to spend up to half a million dollars controlling crowds during the final round of the playoffs.

The city is still living with memories of the riots that followed the Canucks' Stanley Cup loss to the New York Rangers in 1994, causing $1 million in damage, injuring 200 people and leading to charges against more than 150 revellers.