Penguins tempt ‘HBK’ Shawn Michaels with invitation to Game 5

Carl Hagelin cleaned up a juicy rebound after a Phil Kessel shot to snap the goose egg with 10 seconds left in the second period.

The Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel (or HBK) line is really taking on a life of its own.

The real HBK (Heartbreak Kid), Shawn Michaels of WWE fame, gave his blessing to the Pittsburgh Penguins via Twitter, eventually going as far as to sit down to watch the game — one he’s not too familiar with.

Wednesday, the Penguins invited him out to a live game.

Pittsburgh Penguins on Twitter

After plenty of goading from fans, he may have relented.

Shawn Michaels on Twitter

Sportswriters are apparently willing to do a lot to make this happen.

The “HBK line” of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel have been, as the Penguins tweeted, “on fire emoji” for most of these playoffs. They scored two of Pittsburgh’s goals Wednesday and combined for five points.

Hockey is always better when it’s welcoming of new people and audiences. Now, how do we get HBK and Tony X to attend a game together?

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