For the second game in a row, the Los Angeles Kings had the Harmonica Class from the Korea-Town Senior & Community Center perform the national anthem. And for the second game in a row, fans on social media were equal parts hyped and confused.
It was an odd choice for a Game 1 anthem performances, but the seniors slayed. The whole arena came together to sing the Star Spangled Banner in an unexpectedly inspiring moment.
The Kings brought them back — "by popular demand," according to the arena announcer — for Game 2 on Wednesday night.
The Harmonica Class from the Korea-Town Senior & Community Center performs another viral national anthem
Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Why bring in a singer to belt out the anthem when you can bring the crowd together ahead of a pivotal Game 2?
Not everyone got it...
But Kings fans ate it up along with those at the intersection of the harmonica-NHL fan Venn Diagram.
In case you missed it, here was their first performance ahead of Game 1.
I don't know if the harmonica ladies were a good luck charm, but King's fans weren't left disappointed by Game 1. Los Angeles jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Oilers pulled back one goal just before the end of the second period. The third period was bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Kevin Fiala managed to answer Mattias Janmark's early goal, but Oilers ramped up the action from there. Despite holding a 5-3 lead coming into the final three minutes of play, the Kings found themselves tied 5-5 with 90 seconds to go. Phillip Danault had to nullify Connor McDavid's equalizer with a game-winning goal at 19:18.
Of course, they could have done without the late Oilers comeback and drama, but maybe the good vibes of the harmonica anthem can only last so long.