Lightning veteran wing Ryan Callahan said his older brother used to sneak him downstairs in their Rochester, N.Y. home to watch "Slap Shot."
The iconic 1977 film, starring Paul Newman, was about a fictional minor league hockey team using a brawling style to gain popularity in a declining town of Johnstown.
"I was probably too young to watch it," Callahan quipped.
On Tuesday, the Lightning lived it. As Tampa Bay prepared for tonight's nationally-televised exhibition game against Pittsburgh at Johnstown's War Memorial Arena, where Slap Shots was shot, they were greeted by a large crowd and the actual "Hanson Brothers" from the movie, who were fliming a skit in the dressing room following the morning skate.