Ryan Reaves Wore a Phil Kessel 'Thriller' T-Shirt on Sportsnet's 'After Hours'

What do you do after scaring the pants off a teammate? You put his face on a shirt, of course.

What do you do after scaring the pants off a teammate? You put his face on a shirt, of course.

Noted tough guy Ryan Reaves has already gotten the better of Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Phil Kessel since joining the team via offseason trade. First, there was the Halloween video tweeted out by Reaves, in which he jumps out of a hotel room at Kessel while wearing a creepy clown mask. Kessel smiled, but seemed less-than-thrilled by the whole thing. 

First @penguins 7five cam. Yo @PKessel81...Check your shorts son pic.twitter.com/G8ysR8QdD0

— Ryan Reaves (@reavo7five) October 27, 2017

Then there was their one-on-one game of basketball, which Reaves handled easily.

“That was an absolute waxing, oh yeah,” Reaves said. “He’s talking a lot of trash, too, that’s the problem.”

• Pittsburgh Penguins Reveal 2017 Stanley Cup Championship Rings

Then he took their playful rivalry up a notch on Saturday when appearing with Sportsnet’s Scott Oake on an "After Hours" segment following the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-2 loss in Vancouver. Not only did he recap the times he’s gotten to Kessel so far, but he did so while wearing a t-shirt with his teammate’s face superimposed over Michael Jackson’s on the seminal Thriller cover:

Screencap via Sportsnet

Is this t-shirt custom? Is it available for purchase? How many can a person buy at once? (Definitely not asking for a friend.)

Oake then asked if Reaves has the upper-hand on Kessel so far.

“At the moment, I do,” Reaves said. “I’m waiting for the retaliation,but I don’t scare easy and he’s definitely not taking me on the basketball court.” 

Your move, Phil. Make it a good one.

Watch the full segment here—and stay for the childhood photos and a stirring rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You."