Having the Los Angeles Kings face off against the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup playoffs is beginning to be a predictable matchup. More fuel was added to the fire this season as the Edmonton Oilers are the reigning Western Conference champions. What wasn’t expected was who did the honors of playing the United States national anthem at Crypto.com Arena.
If you watched either of the series’ first to games you saw the American national anthem performed by the Harmonica Class from the Korea-Town Senior & Community Center. The sellout crowd sang in unison with the harmonica accompaniment. Online fans were divided. Some embraced the unique and funny nature while others were surprised and not as amused.
As game two approached on Wednesday the big question surrounding the game wasn’t “will the Oilers bounce back” as much as “will the harmonica ladies return”? Paul Bissonette leaned into the joke that maybe the harmonica players grew too big from their newfound fame to return. The Kings responded to Bissonette’s internet love by sending him his own harmonica to show off proudly on the NHL on TNT program. Yet right before puck drop the Harmonica Class was back by “popular demand”.
This time they traded their traditional Korean clothes for matching Kings jerseys. The crowd was hyped up in a way we didn’t know harmonicas would make people. The Kings social media team continued to hype up their “harmonica queens”. Comments on the tweet were a predictable mix of those in support and those against the repeat performance. Props to the team for capturing this epic photo as well.
Spittin’ Chiclets joked it was the anthem that hyped up Adrian Kempe’s Game 2 performance. Kempe has three goals and four assists for seven points in the series first two games. Had there not been some harmonica magic it would be Kempe’s outstanding performance grabbing the headlines.
Even if Los Angeles has been in the league for over 50 years and has had considerable success, they can still be considered a “non-traditional” hockey market. With Los Angeles being the diverse metropolis it is there was no denying inviting the harmonica players was a unique way to incorporate their unique population into the playoff festivities. We don’t know for certain how much of a hockey fan the harmonica class is, but maybe their newfound fame will turn them and their families into hardcore hockey fans this season and beyond.
The Kings have a 2-0 series lead so the vibes are high at Crypto.com Arena. If the Kings keep getting wins, and finally get over the annual hump for them that has been the Edmonton Oilers, could we consider the harmonica players a good luck charm? Could they be well on their way to being what the song “Gloria” was for the St. Louis Blues in 2019? Only time will tell. Remember this is playoff hockey and it’s only weird if it doesn’t work. As the series shifts to Edmonton, no word on if the Oilers will have a harmonic rendition of “O, Canada”.