Pre-Game Coverage of Game 7 Starts at 7 p.m. ET with NHL Live
Winner of Lightning-Penguins Will Face San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final
San Jose’s Game 6 Win is Highest-Rated Sharks Game Ever in San Francisco Market on NBCUniversal Networks
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 26, 2016 – NBCSN presents a win-or-go-home Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Final tonight at 8 p.m. ET with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final hanging in the balance, when Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins host Tyler Johnson and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Three-time Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member and analyst Eddie Olczyk, and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call of tonight’s Game 7 from CONSOL Energy Center.
Pre-game coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN with NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh, alongside analysts and former players Mike Milbury and Keith Jones.
The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the Stanley Cup Final and face the San Jose Sharks, who won Game 6 of the Western Conference Final last night to advance to the first Cup Final in franchise history. The full telecast schedule of the upcoming Stanley Cup Final will be announced on Friday.
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“NHL Playoff Pass” on NBC Sports Group Press Box provides a quick daily overview of Stanley Cup Playoff coverage, plus information and highlights. The Pass will be published weekdays to preview that evening’s games. Friday editions will include weekend information.
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THE PASS – THURSDAY, MAY 26 (All times ET)
| THURSDAY, MAY 26 | |||
| Time | Coverage | Network | Commentators |
| 7 p.m. | NHL Live | NBCSN | Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones |
| 8 p.m. | Game 7 – Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh | NBCSN | Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire |
All Stanley Cup Playoff games will be presented on NBC, NBCSN, USA Network, CNBC and NHL Network. NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will provide streaming coverage of games airing on NBC, NBCSN, USA Network and CNBC via “TV Everywhere.” Live Extrapowered by Playmaker Media. For more information on NBC Sports Group’s overall NHL Playoff coverage, please click here.
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL GAME 7 – LIGHTNING-PENGUINS – TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN – SERIES TIED 3-3
The Penguins forced tonight’s Game 7 with a 5-2 win against the Lightning in Game 6 on Tuesday night in Tampa. Sidney Crosby scored the eventual game-winning goal, and has netted the game-winner in all three of Pittsburgh’s victories in the series. Crosby is the second player in Penguins history to net three game-winners in one series (Kevin Stevens; 1991 Patrick Division Final vs. Washington). Matt Murray made 28 saves for Pittsburgh, whose last Stanley Cup Final appearance came in 2009, when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games.
Tampa Bay will play in its second consecutive Eastern Conference Final Game 7 on the road tonight. The Lightning advanced to last year’s Stanley Cup Final with a 2-0 Game 7 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, as Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat scored to propel Tampa Bay to victory. Lightning veteran Brian Boyle scored twice in the team’s Game 6 loss on Tuesday. With a Game 7 win, Tampa Bay would become the first team to reach back-to-back Cup Finals since Detroit and Pittsburgh in 2008 and 2009.
This is the fifth Game 7 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the first one in the Eastern Conference. Tampa Bay is 5-1 all-time in Game 7s, including a 1-0 win vs. Pittsburgh in Game 7 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. The Penguins’ last Game 7 win clinched the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. Pittsburgh has not won a Game 7 at home since 1995, and the Penguins are 0-4 in home Game 7s in that span.
SAN JOSE’S GAME 6 WIN IS HIGHEST-RATED SHARKS GAME EVER IN SAN FRANCISCO MARKET ON NBCUNIVERSAL NETWORKS
The San Jose Sharks’ 5-2 Game 6 win against the St. Louis Blues to advance to the Stanley Cup Final produced a 6.1 rating in the San Francisco/San Jose/Oakland market to rank as the highest-rated Sharks game on the networks of NBCUniversal in the SF/SJ/Oak market. This broke the previous record set on May 16, 2010, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final against the Chicago Blackhawks on NBC (5.6). The St. Louis market produced a 12.6 rating for last night’s Game 6.
GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR
For the fifth consecutive year, NBC, NBCSN, USA Network, CNBC and NHL Network are combining to televise every Stanley Cup Playoff game nationally.
| Network | Games |
| NBC | 13 |
| NBCSN | 51 |
| USA Network | 6 |
| CNBC | 12 |
| NHL Network | 2 |
| Total | 84 |
One-goal Games: 45
OT games: 18
NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA COVERAGE
NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will stream 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff coverage via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.
–NBC SPORTS GROUP–