The group headed to Rush Hour Karting in Garner for a team bonding day, competing on the go-kart track and in various other games, such as axe throwing and miniature ping pong.
Featuring plenty of laughs and smiles, you could sense that the activity was welcomed by the guys, particularly given the effort they've provided over the last two weeks and how tense things may become the next couple of days.
Tomorrow leading up to next Thursday the final push will begin, with everything needing to be ready to go when the group hosts the Islanders at PNC Arena.
"It's definitely nice to have a little mental break. Especially to come out and do something fun like this, it's been a blast," Jordan Martinook, the day's second-best racer, shared. "We have a lot of guys with kids, so to get away for an afternoon and have fun with each other is what it's all about."
Martinook finished behind only Jesper Fast in the final heat of races. #71 blew away the competition from the get-go, winning each individual qualifying race against his teammates and then taking home the championship round as well. To say his surname was applicable today would be an understatement.
"I've done it a couple times before in Sweden. I don't know how good I am, but apparently was good enough today," the Swede humbly stated after taking home the top spot on the podium. "I thought Jordan Staal was going to be my biggest challenger, but evidently he had a rough start and fell behind a little bit."
Meek with his words, Fast was so far out ahead of the group in the championship race that he took the time to slow down, drive-by high-fiving his teammates who cheered him on during the flat stretch of the final lap. His teammates roared with amusement.
The day concluded with a head-to-head battle between Brendan Smith and Derek Stepan for the axe throwing championship before everyone went their separate ways.
"It's been a tight group ever since I got here and the new guys just fit right in right away," Fast concluded with. "We have a great leadership group that takes care of everyone and makes sure everyone has the same mindset. Now we just need to keep building on that."
The team will get back to business Thursday morning at practice and polish off their preseason schedule Saturday afternoon in Nashville.
