Schedule and 2016-17 Results
Regular Season Records: Pittsburgh 50-21-11=111pts, Nashville 41-29-12=94pts
Game 1 on Monday, 29 May: Nashville loses at Pittsburgh, 5-goals-3
Game 2 on Wednesday, 31 May: Nashville loses at Pittsburgh, 4-goals-1
Game 3 on Saturday, 03 June: Pittsburgh loses at Nashville, 5-goals-1
Game 4 on Monday, 05 June: Pittsburgh loses at Nashville, 4-goals-1
Game 5 on Thursday, 08 June: Nashville loses at Pittsburgh, 6-goals-nil
Game 6 on Sunday, 11 June: Pittsburgh wins at Nashville, 2-goals-nil

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 6: The Pittsburgh Penguins visited and shut out the Nashville Predators 2-goals-nil to complete a 4-games-2 best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1334 victory. With the series 1334 win, the Pittsburgh Penguins improve their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record to 37-22 with an active eight-series winning streak befitting a defending 2-time NHL champion overall and 5-1 in the Finals round. With the series 1334 loss, the Nashville Predators see their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record fall to 6-10 overall and 0-1 in the Finals round. The win order for the victorious Pittsburgh Penguins in series 1334 was WWLLWW: Series 1334 thus becomes the sixth NHL Finals-round series, the 39th NHL series (all rounds), and the 78th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion. The four total road goals tallied by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 NHL Finals are the fewest by a best-of-7 NHL Finals winner since series 1235, in which the 2014 Los Angeles Kings tallied only four goals in New York against the Rangers. Series 1334 becomes only the third best-of-7 NHL Finals series in which the winning team shut out its opponent in the last two games. The two previous series were series 46, in which the Detroit Red Wings swept the Boston Bruins in the 1943 NHL Finals, and series 89, in which the Detroit Red Wings swept the Montreal Canadiens in the 1952 NHL Finals.

After Game 5: The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted and shut out the Nashville Predators 6-goals-nil to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1334 lead of 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 14-7 with an active four-series winning streak and a Game 6 record of 11-10. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-2, the Nashville Predators have a series record of 1-6 and a Game 6 record of 2-5. The sole Nashville victory in the wake of a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-2 deficit occurred in series 1293, in which the Predators won Games 6-7 to defeat the Anaheim Ducks in the 2016 NHL Preliminary round. Trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-2, the Nashville Predators have only a 2-5 Game 6 record, but have won their last two Game 6s in this situation. In the history of best-of-7 NHL Finals series, teams such as Pittsburgh which post a WWLL @ HHVV win/site order now own a sterling 12-0 Game 5 record. For teams such as Pittsburgh which post a win/site order of WWLLW @ HHVVH through five games of a best-of-7 NHL Finals series, their series record is 7-3; whereas only one of the seven winners won Game 5 by a shutout, all three of the three losers won Game 5 by shutout.

After Game 4: The Nashville Predators hosted and outscored the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-goals-1 to tie best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1334 at 2-games-all. When tied 2-games-all in a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 14-8 with an active four-series winning streak and a Game 5 record of 13-9, while the Nashville Predators have a series record of 3-4 and a Game 5 record of 2-5. In best-of-7 NHL Finals history, teams with a win/site order of WWLL @ HHVV after four games (such as the Pittsburgh Penguins in series 1334) had a series record of 8-3. The three teams to lose in this situation: the Chicago Blackhawks, in series 238 to the Montreal Canadiens in the 1971 NHL Finals; the Detroit Red Wings, in series 1070 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 NHL Finals; the Vancouver Canucks, in series 1136 to the Boston Bruins in the 2011 NHL Finals. In each of these three NHL Finals series, the home team won Games 1-6, while the road team won Game 7 to take the NHL championship. So it is that the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins set a favorable precedent for the 2017 Nashville Predators against the 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins.

After Game 3: The Nashville Predators hosted and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-goals-1 to reduce the Pittsburgh Penguins best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL series 1334 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 16-7 with an active five-series winning streak and a Game 4 record of 11-12. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the Nashville Predators have a series record of 0-8 and a Game 4 record of 3-5. The Pittsburgh Penguins also posted a WWL @ HHV win/site order after three games of the 2016 NHL Finals, which they won in six games.

After Game 2: The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted and topped the Nashville Predators 4-goals-1 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1334 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 16-2 with an active 10-series winning streak and a Game 3 record of 12-6. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-nil, the Nashville Predators have a series record of 0-4 and a Game 3 record of 4-0. In the history of best-of-7 NHL Finals, teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins which win Games 1-2 at home have a 34-3 series record. The three teams which failed to win the NHL championship despite such a lead: the 1971 Chicago Blackhawks; the 2009 Detroit Red Wings (to the Pittsburgh Penguins); the 2011 Vancouver Canucks.

After Game 1: The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted and defeated the Nashville Predators 5-goals-3 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1334 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 21-7 with an active seven-series winning streak and a Game 2 record of 18-10. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Nashville Predators have a series record of 0-7 and a Game 2 record of 3-4. The 0-7 best-of-7 NHL playoff series record by the Nashville Predators upon losing Game 1 ties the Predators with the old Phoenix Coyotes for the worst such record in the NHL; the NBA Denver Nuggets, at 0-11 upon losing Game 1 of a best-of-7 NBA playoff series, have the worst MLB/NBA/NHL series record in that context.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2016-17 NHL regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins finished 17 points ahead of the Nashville Predators. From 1939 through the 2017 NHL Semifinals round, when NHL teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by 17 regular-season points, they have posted a best-of-7 playoff series record of 14-3 (.824) in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1334 is the 59th best-of-7 NHL playoff series for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the 16th for the Nashville Predators. In best-of-7 NHL playoff series, the Pittsburgh Penguins have an all-rounds series record of 36-22 with an active seven-series winning streak befitting a defending NHL champion, a Finals-round series record of 4-1, and a Game 1 record of 28-30, while the Nashville Predators have an all-rounds series record of 6-9, a Finals-round series record of 0-0, and a Game 1 record of 8-7. Series 1334 is the first best-of-7 NHL playoff series meeting between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators.