NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The Latest on Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final (all times local):
4:55 p.m.
Country music star Luke Bryan says he would’ve rearranged everything for the opportunity to kick off NBC’s broadcast of Game 6 in the Stanley Cup Final.
Bryan also will be singing a four-song set that will be shown inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and at three outdoor watch parties Sunday night.
The two-time Country Music Association entertainer of the year will be performing on the top of honky-tonk Tootsie’s World Famous Orchid Lounge with NHL officials estimating more than 100,000 people around the arena.
Bryan says it’s surreal that he will be at the epicenter of all that trying to fire up Nashville and will be a moment he’ll never forget.
This will be an easier singing gig than when Bryan performed the national anthem earlier this postseason for the Nashville Predators. He says he was more nervous for that gig than when he sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl as an Atlanta Falcons’ fan.
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4 p.m.
Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are a win from becoming the NHL’s first team to win consecutive Stanley Cup titles in nearly two decades.
To do so, they’ll need to beat the Predators at Nashville in Game 6 of a series in which the home team has yet to lose. The Penguins were outscored a combined 9-2 in losing Games 3 and 4 at Nashville before rebounding with a 6-0 win at Pittsburgh on Thursday.
The Detroit Red Wings are the most recent team to win consecutive Stanley Cups in 1997 and `98.
Crosby and the Penguins are seeking their third title since 2009, and the franchise’s fifth overall.
The Predators are 9-1 in their ”Smashville” country-music home in the midst of making the deepest playoff run in their 19 years of existence.
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11:45 a.m.
Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis’ status for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against Pittsburgh remains in question after he tested himself by skating alone .
But Ellis, who played less than 11 minutes of Thursday night’s 6-0 loss to Pittsburgh, did not join his teammates Sunday morning in an optional skate.
Ellis not only plays on the top defensive pair with Roman Josi, he also has 13 points this postseason, including a seven-game points streak.
Coach Peter Laviolette could replace Ellis by moving Matt Irwin up from the third pair to keep P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm together. Irwin has played with Josi, Ekholm and Subban. Filling the sixth defensive spot could be Anthony Bitetto, with 14 career playoff games but none this postseason.
Pittsburgh leads the series 3-2.
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