Schedule and 2015-16 Results
Regular Season Records: Pittsburgh 48-26-8=104pts, San Jose 46-30-6=98pts
Game 1 on Monday, 30 May: San Jose loses at Pittsburgh, 3-goals-2
Game 2 on Wednesday, 01 June: San Jose loses at Pittsburgh, 2-goals-1 (OT)
Game 3 on Saturday, 04 June: Pittsburgh loses at San Jose, 3-goals-2 (OT)
Game 4 on Monday, 06 June: Pittsburgh wins at San Jose, 3-goals-1
Game 5 on Thursday, 09 June: San Jose wins at Pittsburgh, 4-goals-2
Game 6 on Sunday, 12 June: Pittsburgh wins at San Jose, 3-goals-1

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 6: The Pittsburgh Penguins visited and defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-goals-1 to complete a 4-games-2 best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1301 victory. With the series 1301 win, the Pittsburgh Penguins improve their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record to 33-22 overall and 4-1 in the Finals round. With the series 1301 loss, the San Jose Sharks see their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record fall to 17-18 overall and 0-1 in the Finals round. The win order for the victorious Pittsburgh Penguins in series 1301 was WWLWLW: Series 1301 thus becomes the fourth NHL Finals-round series, the 20th NHL series (all rounds), and the 44th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion. The 2016 NHL playoff season required 91 games to complete - the third-most best-of-7 games in a single NHL playoff season (next to the 93 total games in 2014 and the 92 in 1991).

After Game 5: The San Jose Sharks visited and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-goals-2 to reduce the Pittsburgh Penguins best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL series 1301 lead to 3-games-2. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-2, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 11-7 and a Game 6 record of 10-8. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-2, the San Jose Sharks have a series record of 1-9 (with an active nine-series losing streak) and a Game 6 record of 2-8 (with the two wins sandwiching the eight losses). The San Jose Sharks took their first lead of series 1301 at 1:04 into the first period of Game 5.

After Game 4: The Pittsburgh Penguins visited and defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-goals-1 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1301 lead of 3-games-1. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-1, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 11-3 and a Game 5 record of 8-6. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-1, the San Jose Sharks have a series record of 0-5 and a Game 5 record of 2-3. In best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series, teams posting a win/site order of WWLW @ HHVV through four games (as the Pittsburgh Penguins have in series 1301) have an active 53-series winning streak. The last team to take a WWLW @ HHVV lead in a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series but fail to win the series was the NHL Boston Bruins in series 907, falling to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games in the 2004 NHL Preliminary round. The San Jose Sharks have yet to hold a lead in series 1301.

After Game 3: The San Jose Sharks hosted and topped the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-goals-2 in overtime to reduce the Pittsburgh Penguins best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL series 1301 lead to 2-games-1. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 14-7 (with an active three-series winning streak) and a Game 4 record of 9-12. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the San Jose Sharks have a series record of 3-9 (with an active three-series losing streak) and a Game 4 record of 8-4. Upon trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 2-games-1 (as the San Jose Sharks now do in series 1301 against the Pittsburgh Penguins) and then losing Game 4, the San Jose Sharks have a 0-4 series record (compared to a 3-5 series record upon winning Game 4 and thus tying a best-of-7 NHL playoff series at 2-games-all). Series 1301 becomes the fifth best-of-7 NHL playoff series in which a team such as Pittsburgh wins Games 1-2 at home by one goal each, and then loses Game 3 on the road by one goal - in the previous four such series, the teams doing so posted only a 1-3 series record (including the San Jose Sharks in the first such series, losing series 967 to the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the 2006 NHL Quarterfinals). So it is that the San Jose Sharks of a decade ago set an unfavorable precedent for the opponents of the current San Jose Sharks.

After Game 2: The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted and defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-goals-1 in overtime to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1301 lead of 2-games-nil. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-nil, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 13-2 (with an active seven-series winning streak) and a Game 3 record of 11-4. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-nil, the San Jose Sharks have a series record of 0-10 and a Game 3 record of 7-3. In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff series since 1939, inclusive, twice before has a team won Game 1 by a 3-goals-2 score, and Game 2 by a 2-games-1 score: In series 39, the Boston Bruins did so against the Detroit Red Wings, and swept the 1941 NHL Finals; in series 798, the Philadelphia Flyers did so against the Buffalo Sabres, and won their 2000 NHL Preliminary-round series in five games. In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff series since 1939, inclusive, teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins in series 1301 which win Game 1 by one goal and win Game 2 by one goal have a 46-10 (.821) series record across all rounds, and a 10-1 (.909) series record in the Finals; the sole loser in this situation in the Finals was the Vancouver Canucks in series 1136, to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the 2011 NHL Finals.

After Game 1: The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted and defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-goals-2 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1301 lead of 1-game-nil. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 18-7 (with an active four-series winning streak) and a Game 2 record of 15-10. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the San Jose Sharks have a series record of 5-11 and a Game 2 record of 6-10. Series 1301 Game 1 is the second best-of-7 NHL Finals Game 1 in which the home team scored the first two goals, the visiting team scored the next two goals, and the home team scored the final, winning goal - the first was series 283 Game 1, in which the Boston Bruins hosted and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-goals-2 in the 1974 NHL Finals. In both games, the home teams scored in the 13th and 14th minutes of the first period, and scored the game's last goal late in the third period.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2015-16 NHL regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins finished six points ahead of the San Jose Sharks. From 1939 through the 2016 NHL Semifinals round, when NHL teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by six regular-season points, they have posted a best-of-7 playoff series record of 20-9 (.690) in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1301 is the 55th best-of-7 NHL playoff series for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the 35th for the San Jose Sharks. In best-of-7 NHL playoff series, the Pittsburgh Penguins have an all-rounds series record of 32-22, a Finals-round series record of 3-1, and a Game 1 record of 25-29, while the San Jose Sharks have an all-rounds series record of 17-17, a Finals-round series record of 0-0, and a Game 1 record of 18-16. Series 1301 is the first best-of-7 NHL playoff series meeting between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks.