Series Tied 3-3 – Pre-Game Coverage on NBCSN Begins Tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET with NHL Live
Stanley Cup Final Begins Monday Night on NBC – Nashville Predators at Ottawa/Pittsburgh
NBC Sports Group’s 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs Viewership Up 6% vs. 2016
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 24, 2017 – For the second consecutive season, the Eastern Conference Final will be decided in a winner-take-all Game 7 tomorrow night at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins host Erik Karlsson and the Ottawa Senators with a trip to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at stake.
Five-time Emmy Award-winner Mike “Doc” Emrick (play-by-play), U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass analyst) will call tomorrow’s Senators-Penguins Game 7 from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. Liam McHugh anchors studio coverage alongside analysts and former players Mike Milbury and Keith Jones.
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will provide streaming coverage of Senators-Penguins tomorrow night.
The winner of the Eastern Conference Final will advance to face the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Final, which begins Monday night on NBC. Nashville advanced to its first-ever Stanley Cup Final with a 6-3 win against the Ducks in Game 6 on Monday night on NBCSN.
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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 25 (All times ET)
| Time | Coverage | Network | Commentators |
| 7 p.m. | NHL Live | NBCSN | Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones |
| 8 p.m. | Game 7 – Ottawa at Pittsburgh | NBCSN | Mike “Doc” Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire |
OTTAWA SENATORS AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS – GAME 7 TOMORROW AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN – SERIES TIED 3-3
Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson kept the Senators’ Stanley Cup hopes alive by stopping 45 of 46 shots in a 2-1 win in Game 6 last night. Evgeni Malkin gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead midway through the second period, but Bobby Ryan scored the equalizer on a 5-on-3 power play, and Mike Hoffman netted the eventual game-winner early in the third period for the Senators.
The Penguins have struggled to close out their opponents thus far in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Pittsburgh held a 3-1 series lead against Washington in the second round, but lost Games 5 and 6 before eventually winning Game 7, and led Columbus 3-0 in the first round before losing Game 4 and winning Game 5 at home.
This marks the second straight postseason that the Penguins will host an Eastern Conference Final Game 7. Pittsburgh defeated Tampa Bay in Game 7 of last year’s Eastern Conference Final by a score of 2-1, led by a pair of goals by Bryan Rust. Pittsburgh is 9-7 all-time in Game 7s. The Ottawa Senators have never won a Game 7 in franchise history, 0-5 all-time in their Game 7 matchups.
NBC SPORTS GROUP’S 2017 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS VIEWERSHIP UP 6% VS. 2016
With just one home U.S. market, last night’s Penguins-Senators Game 6 on NBCSN produced a 1.41 overnight rating, even with last year’s Lightning-Penguins Game 6. Locally, the game produced a 23.9 rating in Pittsburgh, up 13% vs. last year’s Game 6 rating. Across all NBC Sports streaming platforms, Pens-Sens delivered the second-most live minutes ever for a Conference Final game (12.6 million), behind only last year’s Lightning-Penguins Game 7 (12.7 million).
The Predators’ series-clinching Game 6 win against Anaheim on Monday night on NBCSN produced a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.558 million average viewers, up 15% vs. the comparable series-clinching Game 5 last year between San Jose and St. Louis (1.358 million). Viewership peaked with more than 2.1 million viewers in the final quarter-hour (10:45-11 p.m. ET). Across all NBC Sports streaming platforms, Ducks-Predators delivered the third-most live minutes (11.8 million) for a Conference Finals game to date.
Across all 76 games on NBC/NBCSN/CNBC/USA to date, the 2017 NHL Playoffs have averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 1.085 million, up 6% from last year through the same point in the Playoffs (1.025 million; 81 games). TAD measures consumption across multiple platforms, combining the average minute audience for television and digital.
STANLEY CUP FINAL BEGINS MONDAY NIGHT ON NBC – NASHVILLE PREDATORS AT OTTAWA/PITTSBURGH
The NHL has announced the dates for the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, which will begin on Monday, May 29, on NBC. Times and networks for all games will be announced later this week.
| Date | Coverage |
| Mon., May 29 | Game 1 – Nashville at Pittsburgh/Ottawa |
| Wed., May 31 | Game 2 – Nashville at Pittsburgh/Ottawa |
| Sat., June 3 | Game 3 – Pittsburgh/Ottawa at Nashville |
| Mon., June 5 | Game 4 – Pittsburgh/Ottawa at Nashville |
| Thur., June 8 | Game 5 – Nashville at Pittsburgh/Ottawa* |
| Sun., June 11 | Game 6 – Pittsburgh/Ottawa at Nashville* |
| Wed., June 14 | Game 7 – Nashville at Pittsburgh/Ottawa* |
*if necessary
NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all Stanley Cup Playoff games to desktops, tablets, and connected TVs. The NBC Sports app will stream coverage via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. Powered by Playmaker Media, the NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Win10, and Xbox.
–NBC SPORTS GROUP–