Lightning unsure who will be in net in Game 5
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper is unsure if injured goalie Ben Bishop will return for Saturday night’s Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals against Chicago.
Bishop sat out the Lightning’s 2- 1 loss in Game 4 on Wednesday with a lower- body injury. The series is tied 2- 2.
“I do not know sitting here today if Ben Bishop is going to play on Saturday,” Cooper said Friday. “I hope he plays. I don’t know if he’s going to. He’s got to get back on the ice. If he’s not in the pregame skate ( Saturday), that’s a pretty good indication of whether he’s going to play or not.”
Bishop didn’t practice Friday, which was predetermined.
“Bish, don’t be alarmed that he’s not out there,” Cooper said. “He’s feeling better with each day. When we made the decision not to play him the other night, the decision just wasn’t made, ‘ Oh, we’re not going to play him.’ It’s, ‘ We’re not playing you and you’re taking the next three days off.’ “This was all in the plan.” Andrei Vasilevskiy will get another start if Bishop can’t go. The rookie won Game 2 in relief, and played well Wednesday in his first playoff start. Vasilevskiy said he is ready. “For sure,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. I’m very excited.”
Legal work: An Arizona judge granted a temporary restraining order requested by the Arizona Coyotes to prevent the city of Glendale from dissolving its arena lease agreement with the team.
The order does not address whether the city must make the next payment due to Ice Arizona, the Coyotes’ owner, for operating the arena.
Jim Condo, an attorney for the Coyotes, said the order was just one step in what would be a long process.
“We’re certainly fortunate the judge has agreed to continue the case,” Condo said. “I think we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
Coyotes officials say the restraining order was needed to stop the city’s “improper attempt” to void a 15- year agreement to play at the Gila River Arena.
The agreement signed in 2013 calls for the city to pay $ 15 million a year to Ice Arizona to manage the arena. Glendale council members raised concerns last week about where that money was going and voted Wednesday to void the deal.
Briefly: The Blues have informed defenseman Barrett Jackman that they will not re- sign him before free agency begins July 1, NHL. com reported. ... Pittsburgh forward Pascal Dupuis has been cleared to return to full- contact workouts after missing most of the 201415 season because of blood clots. ... Anaheim center Nate Thompson will be sidelined at least five months after having surgery to repair two labral tears in his left shoulder, the team announced.