The Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins have survived the NHL Playoff 2017 brackets and will now go head-to-head for the Stanley Cup. The 2017 Nhl Finals features the Penguins trying to win their second-straight Stanley Cup championship while the Nashville Predators aim for their first. Will Sidney Crosby be able to deliver another title to Pittsburgh, or will Filip Forsberg lead Nashville to their first championship in franchise history? Here's a look at when and how to watch the 2017 Nhl Stanley Cup Finals live on television or online, as well as odds to win.
NHL Finals matchup
On one side of the matchup will be the defending NHL Champions from 2016, Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team finished out their regular season with a record of 50-21-11 record along with a points differential of 48. The Penguins had one series which they handled with ease on their side of the brackets, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 in the first round. However, the next two rounds went the distance. Pittsburgh needed the full seven games to defeat Washington in the second round of the playoffs and then seven games to take out the Ottawa Senators en route to the finals.
The Nashville Predators are a surprising entry here in the Finals as they finished 41-29-12 in the Central Division which was fourth place behind St.
Louis, Minnesota, and Chicago. However, Nashville fought through their NHL playoffs matchups to get here. In the first round, Nashville swept the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 and then defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-2 in the second round. They followed that up by eliminating the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 to reach the Finals.
Oddsmakers have the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins as the favorites to win it all again this year.
Vegas Insider lists them with odds of 2 to 3 compared to 13 to 10 odds for the Nashville Predators to win the 2017 Stanley Cup.
When & how to watch
The NHL Stanley Cup Finals will be in the best-of-seven format as per previous years. Game 1 is slated for Monday, May 29th in Pittsburgh with a start time of 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
NBC will handle the live TV coverage. Game 2 is also in Pittsburgh with an 8 p.m. Eastern Time start time, but will be shown on NBC Sports Network on Wednesday, May 31st.
Game 3 takes place on Nashville's home ice on Saturday, June 3rd at 8 p.m. Eastern Time via NBC Sports Network. Game 4 is also held in Nashville. It will take place on Monday, June 5th beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Time with NBC televising.
Should a Game 5 be necessary for the NHL Finals, the teams will return to battle in Pittsburgh on Thursday, June 8th at 8 p.m. Eastern Time with NBC providing the telecast. Game 6 would have the teams back on the ice in Nashville on Sunday, June 11th, while Game 7 would be on Wednesday, June 14th.
Both of these games are slated for 8 p.m. Eastern Time with NBC carrying coverage.
Cable and satellite subscribers can watch the NHL Finals live streaming through NBC Sports Live Extra website or any of the compatible apps for smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, game systems, or streaming media players.
