NHL playoffs: Stanley Cup Final schedule, results and a glance at the series

Series schedule, results and updates from the title showdown between Nashville and Pittsburgh

By Cody Benjamin

Jun 11, 2017 at 11:10 pm ET • 1 min read

With the Pittsburgh Penguins ousting the Ottawa Senators in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, it will be repeat contender vs. brand-new contender in this year's Stanley Cup Final between Steel City and Music City -- the red-hot Nashville Predators.

Make sure you know how to watch every game of the championship series, and come back here for updates on the series that will define the 2016-17 NHL season:

Stanley Cup Final at a glance

Note: All game times are Eastern. Asterisks (*) denote if-necessary games.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Nashville Predators

This season's final contenders are looking for the same finish to their respective headlining playoff runs, but a Stanley Cup title would look quite different for each.

The Penguins, of course, are eyeing a second straight championship after capturing the Cup in 2015-16, and they enter the season's ultimate showdown with an offense that has captivated fans and critics alike at the right times. Beyond Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the usual suspects of scoring brilliance, Pittsburgh has worked its way through back-to-back seven-game series with some timely contributions from its depth, most recently benefiting from Chris Kunitz's double-overtime magic. The Pens' defense, while persistently banged up, has also done enough, especially in the wake of Matt Murray's return to the net, so there's little doubt the defending champs will come into the Final with high hopes.

Nashville, though, has its own reasons to be confident, and those reasons probably start with the play of Pekka Rinne, who has simply added to an already-potent Predators defense with impeccable play in net. The 16th-ranked postseason team has not always looked pretty when topping the Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues in recent weeks, but it has, in fact, played with energy -- an aggressiveness mirrored by the franchise's frenetic fan base and the magnitude of the Preds' historic push for a first-ever title. Throw in the fact that Nashville entered the playoffs known for its high-scoring touch (see: Filip Forsberg, etc.), and the Preds' collision with the Pens should be entertaining, to say the least.

Game 1: Penguins 5, Predators 3 (lead 1-0)
Game 2: Penguins 4, Predators 1 (lead 2-0)
Game 3: Predators 5, Penguins 1 (trail 2-1)
Game 4: Predators 4, Penguins 1 (tied 2-2)
Game 5: Penguins 6, Predators 0 (lead 3-2)
Game 6: Penguins 2, Predators 0 (won 4-2)