It was an hour before Game 7 in the 2017 second-round playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, and Penguins players were assembled around the visiting locker room preparing for a tense game. Some guys were kicking around a soccer ball, others were stretching, some were zoning out listening to music through headphones.
Phil Kessel was sipping a coffee and talking to Rick Tocchet, then a Penguins assistant coach. Kessel noticed a chin-up bar.
"I bet you can't do 12 chin-ups," Kessel told Tocchet.
"Really?" said Tocchet, who was 53 but had played 18 seasons in the NHL.