BOSTON (AP) The Latest on Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final (all times local):
4 p.m.
Matt Grzelcyk (GRIHZ’-lihk) replacing Connor Clifton in the Boston Bruins’ lineup for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final is a no-brainer because he was cleared from concussion protocol. The St. Louis Blues had a harder decision to make.
After his team fell flat in Game 6, coach Craig Berube decided to put defenseman Joel Edmundson back in the lineup in place of Robert Bortuzzo. He said he was OK with four left-handed shooters on defense because righties Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo are playing so much.
Berube told Edmundson on Tuesday he’d be back in after being a healthy scratch the past two games.
”I played in I think three Game 7s now so this is going to be my fourth,” Edmundson said. ”None of them compare to this one. Obviously it’s going to be the biggest game of my life. But everyone’s excited.”
The return of Ivan Barbashev from suspension pushes banged-up forward Robert Thomas out of the lineup. Struggling Sammy Blais stays in for St. Louis on the third line with Tyler Bozak and Patrick Maroon.
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2:25 p.m.
Preparations are well underway on the streets outside Boston’s TD Garden in the hours before Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
By early afternoon, police were setting up sidewalk barriers in preparation for the first championship-series Game 7 in Boston since the Celtics beat the Lakers to win the NBA title on June 12, 1984, 35 years to the day of Blues-Bruins.
Thousands of fans are expected to be in the vicinity of the arena, which will have a charged atmosphere. Buzz began circulating during the day that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would be the pregame flag-bearer to fire up the crowd and former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz would make an appearance on the video screens from his room in intensive care at Massachusetts General Hospital after being shot at a bar in his native Dominican Republic three days ago.
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1:06 p.m.
Matt Grzelcyk (GRIHZ’-lihk) is expected to return to the Boston lineup for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against St. Louis.
Grzelcyk’s return is a major boost on the blue line for Boston. He suffered a concussion two weeks ago in Game 2 of the series and has missed the past four.
Coach Bruce Cassidy says the puck-moving defenseman was cleared through the concussion protocol Wednesday, hours before the game. Connor Clifton is set to come out to make room.
St. Louis is also making changes: Joel Edmundson replaces Robert Bortuzzo on defense, and with Ivan Barbashev back from suspension, Sammy Blais stays in for the banged-up Robert Thomas. Coach Craig Berube says defensemen Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo are playing major minutes so he wanted to put four left-handed shooters at the positon.
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