Kessel, Daley return to ice for Penguins ahead of game 5

PITTSBURGH — There was good news on the injury front Welcome at the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday morning skate.

Phil Kessel and Trevor Daley returned to the ice after missing Wednesday's practice with "bumps and bruises," according to Pens head coach Mike Sullivan.

Daley said it was a regularly scheduled day off because he's still returning to form after a lower-body injury that forced him to miss a significant portion of the regular season.

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There were a few notable absences from the optional skate: Sidney Crosby, Nick Bonino and Ian Cole took the morning off.

There's no pressure in the Penguins' locker room, despite their lackluster performance in the game 4 loss to Columbus.

"If you told us we'd have a 3-1 lead coming back home, we'd take it," Daley said. "We just have to go out and play our game."

A main area of focus for the Penguins will be the first period, in which they've been outscored 5-2 and outshot by Columbus 56-27 through four games this series.

The puck drops at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Cox Media Group