The NHL preseason wrapped up on Sunday when the Capitals finished off the Islanders 6-2, but last week’s most entertaining game took its inspiration from the 1977 comedy Slap Shot.
The Pittsburgh Penguins partnered with NBC Sports for an event in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, arena where the 1977 movie took place. The storied Hanson Brothers visited the Pens’ locker room for a pre-game speech (and later posed for pictures).
The Lightning also got their photo op with the bespectacled trio.
Despite the game’s comical inspiration, Pittsburgh was all business in dispatching with the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. The Pens finished their preseason with a 3-5 record, and will open the regular season Thursday night on the road in Dallas.
REMEMBERING SLAP SHOT
Before the Slap Shot-tribute game, NBC Sports interviewed a number of NHL stars on their favorite scenes from the Paul Newman classic. Maple Leafs left winger James van Riemsdyk singled out the scene in which the Hanson Brothers play with electric slot cars in their hotel room.
The Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury took his love for Slap Shot a step further, donning a wig to reprise the scene from the movie in which French-Canadian goalie Denis Lemieux is interviewed about the rules of hockey.
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