PITTSBURGH - For this Penguins-giddy town, it was like taking a flying elbow right in the solar plexus.
Given that wrestling legend Shawn Michaels was in the house, a grappling analogy was quite fitting to use in describing Pittsburgh’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
The CONSOL Energy Center was hopping with the presence of Michaels, who was invited to the game by the Penguins.
Michaels’ nickname is HBK, which stands for the Heart Break Kid. With the Carl Hagelin-Nick Bonino-Phil Kessel trio having recently been labelled the HBK Line, the Penguins took advantage of the link here and rolled out the red carpet for Michaels, who sat near the glass with former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel, and was cheered all night.