Seattle bars prepare for packed crowds and Kraken fan excitement amid playoffs

SEATTLE — The Kraken are in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The team defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, in Sunday’s Game 7, and had all of Seattle on the edge of their seat.

In just a few hours, the Kraken will take the ice in Game 1 of Round 2 against the Dallas Stars. Bar owners and workers said, even with the game on a Tuesday, there are no slow nights when playoff hockey is on.

The owner of the Angry Beaver, Seattle’s Original Hockey Bar, said they got so packed for Game 7 that some fans watched through the windows. He also expects the crowds to get bigger and louder the deeper the Kraken’s run goes.

“You could see people almost holding their breath waiting for those three minutes to go by,” said Angry Beaver Owner, Tim Pipes.

Tim Pipes said he could hear a pin drop during the final seconds of Game 7, then the clock ran out with the Kraken up, taking the series.

“It blew up in here. Cracks of ‘Let’s Go Kraken’, it was fantastic. I literally watched people in tears, including myself with a lump in my throat,” Pipes said. “You could sense that emotion. Like that love almost. Just the excitement over it. I could feel it coming around the room.”

Pipes said he enjoyed that outpour of pure excitement, then had to start stocking for another busy night of playoff hockey.

“To be prepared for this game after game, my beer and liquor orders have probably doubled or almost tripled at this point. It’s hard keeping stuff in stock,” said Pipes. “We switched over to plastic solo cups because we couldn’t keep up with the dishwasher when it’s that kind of busy.”

Bars across Seattle prepare for weekend crowds, whenever the Kraken takes the ice.

“I bumped up my food orders and Sarah definitely bumped up our alcohol orders too because we probably, every single night they’re playing will probably double our business,” said The Dock’s Chef, Lawrence Gislason.

He also said the Dock staffed extra cooks and bartenders on game nights. Seasoned hockey fan, Sachin Kaytal, who cheered on the Great One in his prime said around this time of year, gamedays revolve around puck drop.

“The city will come to a standstill. Hockey is a religion,” said Sachin.

The puck drop against Dallas for Game 1 is at 6:30 p.m. The first home game for round two is Sunday, May 7.

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