NHL teams, players look to hit right chord with victory song

The Edmonton Oilers were struggling to find consistency.

They needed to make a dramatic, season-altering change.

Of course, the postgame play list was the place to start. 

Out was “Focus” by John Summit (featuring CLOVES), which they played in their room after a win through most of this season, and in was “Staying Alive,” the iconic disco song by the Bee Gees.

The result: a five-game winning streak that put them in first place in the Pacific Division.  

“Me and Doc (defenseman Darnell Nurse) thought it would fit the situation pretty well right now, just trying to stay alive and we’ve been playing well since. So hopefully it’s going to stick,” forward Kasperi Kapanen said.

Just about every NHL team seems to have its postgame win song. Sometimes there’s a special reason behind the song selection, or a song comes on, everyone likes it and the team goes with it. Or like the Oilers, teams start with one song and switch to another to change the vibe.

Perhaps the most famous postgame win song is “Gloria” by Laura Branigan.

As legend would have it, some St. Louis Blues players heard the 80s classic in a bar during a road trip to Philadelphia in January of 2019. The next night the Blues beat the Flyers in goalie Jordan Binnington's NHL debut and they never looked back, going on to win the Stanley Cup, playing “Gloria” after each victory.

A Blues fan celebrates St. Louis' Stanley Cup in 2019 while paying homage to the Laura Branigan song that became the team’s rallying cry.

The Oilers still have a familiar song, “La Bamba,” in their postgame playlist for a much different reason.  Originally performed by Ritchie Valens (the Oilers play the Los Lobos version), “La Bamba” became the Oilers’ go-to song in the 2021-22 season in honor of their late dressing room attendant Joey Moss. It was the favorite song of Moss, who died in 2020. The song also has a special connection to Ben Stetler, the Oilers superfan who encouraged Edmonton to “Play La Bamba, baby” after each win during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ben passed away on Aug. 9, 2022, at age 6 after battling glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer.

NHL.com talked to various teams around the League about their postgame win songs and organized our own little playlist. Feel free to read these with your inner Kasey Kasem voice.

Boston Bruins: "Hands Up" by Ottawan

Credit Nikita Zadorov for picking this 1980s disco song, and per Bruins PR, it's David Pastrnak approved. The Bruins were looking for a European-style dance/celebration song. This one fit the bill and became the first song in the postgame win playlist. "That's Life" by Frank Sinatra is also in the rotation.

Calgary Flames: "Ring of Fire (remix)" by Wuki

Not surprisingly, Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" has been the Flames' home-game staple for a while but they decided to go with this remix version for any location this season.

"You can't go wrong with (Cash). He's a legend and it's a classic. (The remix) is new this year," former Flames forward Nazem Kadri said prior to his trade to the Colorado Avalanche on March 6.

"I think it takes maybe some time to figure out what that song is and I know a lot of hockey players are somewhat superstitious. If we're losing the song goes away, if you're winning it stays."

Chicago Blackhawks: "I Love This Bar" by Toby Keith

This came out of a collaboration, with Sam Lafferty and strength and conditioning coach Juan Gonzalez selecting this one.

"It's just kind of a catchy, feel-good kind of tune," the forward said. "I like a little bit of everything, but I definitely enjoy country. Hopefully we hear it more down the stretch."

Colorado Avalanche: "The Fate of Ophelia" by Taylor Swift

Forward Brock Nelson said on the Avalanche podcast that they played another song previously, but forward Parker Kelly chose this one once Swift's album, "The Life of a Showgirl," was released in October.

Columbus Blue Jackets: "Gin and Juice" by Snoop Dogg and "Mundian to Bach Ke (Beware of the Boys) by Panjabi MC

Much like the Oilers, the Blue Jackets made a change.

They played "Gin and Juice" through the early part of the season, when wins weren't coming too often. Forward Mathieu Olivier said they then switched to the "Mundian" song, which was originally released by Panjabi MC in 1998 and remixed by Jay-Z in 2003, after defeating the Utah Mammoth 3-2 in overtime on Jan. 11. Olivier said the Blue Jackets were 0-3-0 on a four-game trip heading into that win vs. Utah. Considering how well they've done since the change was a good idea. Sorry, Snoop.

Florida Panthers: "Freed from Desire" by Gala

A.J. Greer latched onto this 1996 Eurodance song after hearing it at a soccer game.

‘'It was just a general consensus that it was a good win song. We had it last year, so, we kept it going," the forward said. "I first heard it when I was in England. I went to a Brighton soccer game against Manchester United, and that's their win song. It seemed to just get everyone fired up. Then, I got here, and the captains decided on it."

Los Angeles Kings: "Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen

The Kings don't have a tried-and-true postgame win song, but defenseman Joel Edmundson, who has become the Kings' DJ this season, went on a Springsteen kick for part of the season. This standard by The Boss was his choice for a while. 

New Jersey Devils: "Murder on the Dancefloor" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Admission: Hearing this early 2000s groove coming from the visiting locker room when the Devils were in Chicago was the inspiration for this story.

As for the Devils' inspiration, Paul Cotter said it was quite the selection process.

"We put up the top five songs, win songs, played them, and some of the guys liked a couple of them. This was during the preseason when we were trying to figure it out. And then Game 1 and after winning a few, there were all different songs we used, it was just whoever threw on the first one," the forward said. 

"I think Timo (Meier) was like, 'Give me the iPad' and he put (‘Murder on the Dancefloor') on and it was a meaningful game, whatever it was and we liked it."

Paul Cotter, Johnathan Kovacevic and the rest of the Devils like to rock out to ‘Murder on the Dancefloor' after every win.

New York Islanders: "Joy" by Jesse Mac Cormack

Former Islanders coach Patrick Roy constantly preached joy, and this song was chosen to exemplify that by forward Kyle MacLean, who also played it at Bridgeport, the Islanders' AHL affiliate.

"It's fitting for a few of the themes of our season," Islanders forward Anders Lee said. "(Kyle) found it and it's perfect for us. It's got a good little beat, it's fun and it's one of those songs that, it's not overplayed anywhere. It definitely feels like it's ours. It's a tough thing to pick, and winning helps make it even better."

We'll see if the song changes now that Roy has been replaced by Peter DeBoer. 

San Jose Sharks: "Let's Go" by Will.i.am

This party song one came about randomly, courtesy of veteran forward Ryan Reaves.

"I think I was hurt and we won and I just threw a song on, the boys were jamming to it, so that's how it came about," he said. "I mean, sometimes you throw on a song. A lot of times you're out with the boys at someone's house or a bar or whatever, a song comes on, the boys jam, something happens where that kind of sticks," he said. "This one, I think we played a couple that night and the boys enjoyed that one, so that was it."

Seattle Kraken: "Some kind of Wonderful" by Grand Funk Railroad

Defenseman Brandon Montour, aka the Kraken's DJ, gave teammates a few ideas for their song before choosing this one.

"I think you've always got to go classic, some kind of a song that everyone can kind of bump their head to. I don't know how many younger guys or Europeans even know that song, but it's a classy song. The staff enjoy it. I probably ended up with three, four songs, and then I kind of gathered around the EQ's, the med staff, and we kind of decided on that one." 

There are a few others in the playlist for Montour, whose bobblehead, which came out when the Kraken played the Washington Capitals on Jan. 27, depicted him in full DJ mode.

"I enjoy picking music, changing music, putting new songs on," he said. "(Defenseman Ryker Evans) helps as well, him and (defenseman Josh Mahura), so we've got a good group here that enjoy what we're playing."

St. Louis Blues: "No Broke Boys" by Tinashe

Forward Jordan Kyrou said it was a group decision to go with this recent R&B release after the Blues "just threw on some songs and did like a little vote. It just fires you up after a game, after a big win." 

Utah Mammoth: "Beer for my Horses" by Toby Keith featuring Willie Nelson

Dylan Guenther said the postgame win song isn't a huge deal for the Mammoth, but the forward said, "I've been hearing that one a lot recently, so I think that's our win song."

Vancouver Canucks: "Mama Laudaaa" by Almklausi and Specktakel

It's been a tough season for the Canucks, but when they have had success, they've celebrated with this song from the German entertainer and digital creator, respectively.

Playing it is also a way for the Canucks to improve the mood as they continue to rebuild.

"Small things like that, start building and start finding the positives," defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. "Losing is not fun so try to find something that for sure can be a building block. It's a silly thing, but it's something that if we try to find positives in every little thing, but at the same time we're honest with ourselves, I think it's going to be fine.

"We've got a young team, a lot of guys going through it for the first time and we just said to ourselves, 'Start building something here and it starts now, right? We don't go around waiting. We work hard every day, and we have fun working hard. It's supposed to be a fun game and not so threatening, maybe sometimes. So, I think that's a big part, the work ethic that we put in day in and day out, it starts there."

Washington Capitals: "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars

The Capitals didn't have one for the early part of the season but started playing Mars' song following wins after forward Ryan Leonard sang it at their rookie dinner.

"It was fantastic," defenseman Rasmus Sandin said. "He had a great performance for us. It was in the beginning of the year.  I can't really remember (when), but he had a great performance for us."

Other team song choices

Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators: "Live is Life" by Opus
If you grew up in the 1980s, you remember this one with the steady beat and rhythmic hand clapping.

Carolina Hurricanes: "Hard Knocks" by Jon Pardi

A great, upbeat country song off Pardi's latest album.

Dallas Stars: "Freed from Desire" by Gala

The Stars and Panthers thought alike on this one.

Montreal Canadiens: "Down Under" by Men at Work

This classic, penned by the fabulous Aussie singer/songwriter Colin Hay, had the Canadiens hopping after a win at Madison Square Garden last week. 

New York Rangers: "New York" ft. Fat Joe, Jadakiss

There are a whole lot of great songs about the Big Apple, and this Rangers selection is one of them.

Toronto Maple Leafs: "Come On, Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners

Cue the fiddles on another ‘80s classic.

The Oilers have a vast playlist of postgame tunes at their disposal.

Top photo: "LaBamba," inspired by Oilers late dressing room attendant Joey Moss, helped the Oilers get to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.

NHL.com editor-in-chief Bill Price, senior writers Dan Rosen and Tom Gulitti, senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale, staff writer Derek Van Diest and international correspondents Ryan Boulding, Craig Merz, George Richards, Dan Greenspan, Darren Brown, Stefen Rosner, Kevin Woodley, Dave McCarthy and Zoe Pierce contributed to this report.