Over a year of consistent practice and hard work, only the best 14 or so qualified to play during the Stanley Cup playoffs. This elite group didn’t feature burly defensemen or history-making scorers but rather a close-knit coterie of senior citizens.

Around 50 participants regularly attend harmonica classes at the Koreatown Senior and Community Center in Los Angeles, about a 10-minute drive west of Crypto.com Arena, home of the Los Angeles Kings. Since the program’s inception seven years ago, members of the class have performed at Lunar New Year festivals, Mother’s Day celebrations and even ahead of a Los Angeles City Council meeting. This year, they added hockey games to the list.

Following a debut performance in March, the center’s harmonica players returned for the Kings’ playoff opener against the Edmonton Oilers on April 21 and became an internet sensation. They’ve also become something of a good-luck charm, with the Kings winning every game that has opened with one of their enlivened performances.

The center opened in 2013 and has become a valuable resource to elder Koreans in Los Angeles, which is home to the largest Korean population in the country. Some bring their mail to the center, where volunteers help translate its contents for them. It helped seniors sign up for food distribution programs early in the coronavirus pandemic. It also offers 47 classes attended by some 1,500 participants, according to Gloria Y. Kim, the center’s public relations manager.

Donna Lee, 80, was first drawn to the center in 2023. She wanted more exercise, so she sought out its Korean traditional dance classes. Despite never learning an instrument before, she tried its harmonica class, too.

Class members learn to play the U.S. and South Korea national anthems. They also practice Korean folk songs.

Lee took such a liking to the class that she practiced every day. Come this year, she said she felt so confident in her ability that public performances did not elicit nerves. She is one of 14 members selected to perform during public appearances.

“It’s a very happy, simple instrument,” Lee said of the harmonica. “We practice a lot.”

The Kings approached the center in January as the team made plans to host K-Town Night, which would take place March 23. Kwanil Park, the center’s executive director, suggested its harmonica group perform the national anthem, which the ensemble did ahead of a 7-2 home win against the Boston Bruins.

“On this night we were honoring Koreatown and they performed ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ on harmonica,” the team said in a statement to The Washington Post. “In a very organic moment, our crowd started singing along word for word. We felt it was a very unique outcome and something that was very engaging and could be something quite impactful for the playoffs, so we invited them back.”

The group returned ahead of Game 1 of the Kings’ playoff series against the Oilers, performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in traditional Korean clothing called hanbok.

Again, fans in the arena sang along, and the harmonica players’ performance went viral. The Kings defeated the Oilers in the series opener, 6-5.

Lee, who had never attended a hockey game before this year, said she enjoyed the experience.

“There’s a lot of people singing together,” said Lee, transitioning between speaking English and using an interpreter. “We don’t know hockey, but when we saw the L.A. Kings were going to win, we [were excited], then we [were] just shouting.”

The team invited the group back for Game 2 to reprise its performance. Lee and her classmates wore Kings jerseys and were welcomed with cheers. Three periods later, the Kings had taken Game 2, 6-2.

The harmonica group’s performances seem to have a talismanic quality. The Kings are undefeated with a 19-9 margin of victory in three games at which the group has performed.

Following the Kings’ success, a retirement home in Alberta posted a TikTok video Friday showing a rival kazoo-playing group performing Canada’s national anthem. That night, the Kings dropped their first game of the series, 7-4.

Los Angeles suffered an overtime defeat Sunday and returns home Tuesday for Game 5 with the series tied at 2, perhaps needing another harmonica serenade to reclaim its edge.