Pre-Game Coverage on NBCSN Begins 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 25, 2017 – NBC Sports presents a winner-take-all Game 7 tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line, as Sidney Crosby and the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins look to keep their hopes of a repeat alive when they host Erik Karlsson and the Ottawa Senators. Pre-game coverage for tonight’s Game 7 begins with NHL Live at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
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 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 tonight’s Game 7.
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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 AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN – SERIES TIED 3-3
Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson forced tonight’s Game 7 by stopping 45 of 46 shots in a 2-1 win in Game 6 against Pittsburgh. 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.
Additional Game 7 stats:
- Home teams are 98-70 (.583) all-time in Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including 1-1 in 2017;
- The team that scores first is 125-43 all-time (.744), including 1-1 in 2017;
- Forty Game 7s have required overtime (40-of-168, 23.8%). Home and road teams each have 20 wins;
- Penguins forward Carl Hagelin is 7-1 in eight career Game 7s, while teammate Matt Cullen is 6-0;
- Senators head coach Guy Boucher already has a Game 7 victory at Pittsburgh on his résumé, having directed the Lightning to a 1-0 decision over the Penguins in the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in his rookie NHL campaign behind the bench.
NBC SPORTS GROUP’S 2017 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS VIEWERSHIP UP 6% VS. 2016
With just one home U.S. market, Tuesday’s Penguins-Senators Game 6 on NBCSN delivered a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.868 million average viewers, up 2% vs. last year’s Lightning-Penguins Game 6 (1.825 million). NBCSN ranked as the No. 2 network on cable in primetime among the A-18-49 and A25-54 demos. Viewership peaked with nearly 2.5 million viewers in the game’s final full quarter hour (10:45-11 p.m. ET).
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).
Across all 77 games on NBC/NBCSN/CNBC/USA to date, the 2017 NHL Playoffs have averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 1.096 million, up 6% from last year through the same point in the Playoffs (1.030 million; 82 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 following tonight’s Game 7.
| 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–