PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Latest on Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final (all times local):
7:45 p.m.
Penguins center Nick Bonino is not on the ice for warmups prior to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Predators and is and out again. It’s the third consecutive game he has missed with a left foot or ankle injury.
Bonino took a shot from Nashville’s P.K. Subban during Game 2. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan has called him a game-time decision since.
Colin Wilson is expected to play for the Predators after missing the first three games of the series.
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7:05 p.m.
All eyes are on goaltenders Pekka Rinne and Matt Murray going into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final as the Predators visit the Penguins.
Rinne returns to Pittsburgh, where he was shelled in the first two games of the series and is 0-5 with a 4.85 goals-against average and .833 save percentage over his NHL career. Murray, on the other hand, is coming off two consecutive losses and has never lost three in a row since entering the NHL.
After back-to-back losses, Murray is 5-0 with a 1.77 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.
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6:30 p.m.
Two consecutive victories don’t give coach Peter Laviolette belief that his Nashville Predators have momentum against the Pittsburgh Penguins going into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. But he does believe they have an advantage with the series down to a best-of-three and two of the games of the road.
“If you’ve got a team that has momentum and a team that’s got desperation, for me anyway, the scarier team is the one that’s got desperation,” Laviolette said. “They still have home ice. Desperation should probably still fall on our side here where we know we’ve got to win a game in Pittsburgh. We know we’ve got to win one road game and then a home game to boot.”
The Predators outscored the Penguins 9-1 in the past two games. They also have a 123-91 shot lead in the Cup Final.
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4:40 p.m.
Colin Wilson could be back in the Nashville Predators’ lineup for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Wilson took part in the team’s morning skate at PPG Paints Arena and came off before P.A. Parenteau, who said he would not play. Wilson missed the first four games of the series with an unspecified lower-body injury.
The 27-year-old forward scored 12 goals in the regular season for Nashville.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan confirmed that Matt Murray would remain in goal and said that center Nick Bonino was a game-time decision. Bonino has missed the past two games after taking a shot to the left foot or ankle.
The series was tied 2-2.
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