The Tampa Bay Lightning pulled an awesome practical joke on a handful of players regarding their third jersey. And the video evidence is priceless.

As I may have mentioned, I'm in Tampa this weekend for the unveiling of the Bolts' new third jersey on Saturday. So I decided to catch Friday's preseason game against the Dallas Stars — which was excellent, by the way. I'll take a 6-3 win any day, exhibition or otherwise.

During the first period, the in-game host came out wearing a black jersey with the Lightning bolt on the front and stripes formed by rows of palm trees. To anyone reading this blog, it would've been obvious it wasn't an actual game jersey.

But it seems Lightning players are a bit easier to fool.

The hidden camera footage reveals player reaction to being told this is the team's new third jersey. Highlights include Radko Gudas saying, "That's sick! We have palm trees on the jerseys? That's amazing!"

Really, Radko?

Another guy called it a "Christmas sweater with palm trees on it." When asked how to fix the design, another said "maybe one row" of palm trees.

Yeah, that'll do the trick.

In all, a good joke, well-executed. If anything, it tempers expectations for tomorrow. No way to be disappointed when we can say, at least it doesn't have three rows of palm trees on it.

Be sure to keep an eye on the home page with my Twitter and Instagram updates all day tomorrow. I probably won't get around to putting together a blog post until later Saturday night.

Hope you enjoy the coverage!