The 2017 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2016–17 season, and the culmination of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Western Conference champion Nashville Predators, four games to two to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup in their opponent's rink for the fifth time.
During the regular season, the Penguins finished second in the league with 111 points, which gave them home ice advantage in the series. The series began on May 29 and concluded on June 11. The Penguins made their second consecutive Finals appearance, marking the third time in their history they had done this, following their appearances in – and –. This was the first time since 2009, a rematch between the Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, that any team appeared in consecutive Finals. The Penguins also became the first team since the Red Wings (in and ) to win the Stanley Cup in consecutive years and the first to do so since the introduction of the salary cap. They also became the fifth franchise to accomplish this feat more than once.
This marked the second consecutive season in which a Western Conference team made their first appearance in the Finals; the San Jose Sharks made their Finals debut the year prior. This was the first time in NHL history that two United States–born head coaches faced off against each other in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Penguins won the first two games of the series despite being massively outshot by the Predators in both games. Nashville tied the series at two with a pair of convincing wins at home. However, Penguins goaltender Matt Murray shut out the Predators for the remainder of the series. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan became the third coach in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup in his first two seasons as a coach with his team, joining Pete Green of the original Ottawa Senators (in and ) and Toe Blake of the Montreal Canadiens (in and ). This was the first Finals since in which no game was decided by one goal, and the second Finals in three years to have none of its games reach overtime.
As of , this is the most recent major professional sports championship won by a Pittsburgh-based team.
Paths to the Finals Pittsburgh Penguins
This was Pittsburgh's second consecutive Finals appearance, and sixth overall. The Penguins did not make any major transactions during the offseason, instead of signing head coach Mike Sullivan to a three-year extension. At the deadline, Pittsburgh acquired defensemen Ron Hainsey and Mark Streit via trade, which proved helpful for depth when star Kris Letang suffered a season-ending injury just weeks before the playoffs started.
Pittsburgh finished with 111 points (50–21–11) during the regular season to finish second in the Metropolitan Division and second overall among playoff teams. Center and team captain Sidney Crosby led the Penguins with 89 points, which ranked second in the league, and won the Rocket Richard Trophy with 44 goals. Phil Kessel led the team in assists with 47.
In the playoffs, the Penguins defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games, eliminated the back-to-back Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals for a second consecutive year, this time in seven games, and edged the Ottawa Senators in seven games in the Eastern NHL Conference Finals after Chris Kunitz scored in double overtime of game seven.
Nashville Predators
This was Nashville's first Stanley Cup Final appearance in its 19-year history. They were also the first major professional sports team from Tennessee to play for a championship since the also Nashville-based Tennessee Titans made Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.
During the offseason, Nashville traded defenceman and long-time team captain Shea Weber to Montreal for defenceman P. K. Subban, and during the regular season, traded for forwards Cody McLeod and Vernon Fiddler. The Predators also re-signed forward Filip Forsberg during the offseason.
Nashville finished with 94 points (41–29–12) during the regular season, finishing as the eighth seed and second wild card team in the Western Conference, and the 16th overall. Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson tied for the team lead in regular-season goal-scoring with 31 each. Ryan Johansen led the team in assists with 47. Arvidsson and Johansen tied for the team lead in points with 61.
The Predators started the playoffs by upsetting the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in a sweep, becoming the second team in NHL history to be the lowest seed in their conference to sweep the top seeded team in the opening round (1993 St. Louis Blues). They followed that up by eliminating the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks, both in six games. Kevin Fiala and Johansen sustained serious leg injuries in the second and third rounds respectively, and both missed the remainder of the playoffs. The Predators became the third team to be the lowest seed in their conference in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final, joining the 2006 Edmonton Oilers and the 2012 Los Angeles Kings. The Predators were also the third different franchise that head coach Peter Laviolette led to the Stanley Cup Final. He won the Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, and also took the Philadelphia Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final.
Game summaries Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the entire four rounds of the playoffs
Game one
Late in the first period, penalties from Nashville forwards Calle Jarnkrok and James Neal gave Pittsburgh a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play, and Evgeni Malkin scored to make it 1–0. Just 1:15 later, Conor Sheary scored into an open net after a cross-ice pass from Chris Kunitz caught Nashville's defence off guard. In the final seconds of the period, a centring pass from Nick Bonino deflected off Mattias Ekholm and into the net to give Pittsburgh a 3–0 lead. Following Bonino's goal, the Penguins went 37 consecutive minutes without a shot on goal, including the entire second period. The Predators used power-play goals from Ryan Ellis and Colton Sissons to make it 3–2, and Frederick Gaudreau scored immediately following a Penguins power play to tie the game midway through the third. Soon afterwards, Pittsburgh's first shot since the first period resulted in a Jake Guentzel goal to give Pittsburgh the lead again. Bonino scored again into an empty net to clinch the victory for Pittsburgh.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st PIT Evgeni Malkin (8) – pp Trevor Daley (3) and Sidney Crosby (14) 15:32 1–0 PIT PIT Conor Sheary (1) Chris Kunitz (4) and Sidney Crosby (15) 16:37 2–0 PIT PIT Nick Bonino (3) Brian Dumoulin (3) 19:43 3–0 PIT 2nd NSH Ryan Ellis (5) – pp P. K. Subban (9) and Mike Fisher (1) 08:21 3–1 PIT 3rd NSH Colton Sissons (6) – pp Roman Josi (6) and Calle Jarnkrok (3) 10:06 3–2 PIT NSH Frederick Gaudreau (1) Austin Watson (3) and Mike Fisher (2) 13:29 3–3 PIT Jake Guentzel (10) Matt Cullen (6) and Justin Schultz (8) 16:43 4–3 PIT PIT Nick Bonino (4) – en Chris Kunitz (5) 18:58 5–3 PIT Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NSH Calle Jarnkrok Interference 13:50 2:00 NSH James Neal Cross-checking 13:50 2:00 2nd PIT Olli Maatta Interference 03:43 2:00 PIT Ian Cole Roughing 06:39 2:00 3rd PIT Evgeni Malkin Slashing 09:36 2:00 NSH P. K. Subban Delay of game (puck over glass) 11:24 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 11 9 6 26 8 0 4 12
Game two
Midway through the first, the Predators took their first-ever lead in a Stanley Cup Final game when Pontus Aberg scored around Olli Maatta. The Penguins tied it late in the period when a Guentzel tip sneaked past Pekka Rinne. After a scoreless second period in which the Predators took twice as many shots as the Penguins, Pittsburgh came out firing in the third, scoring three goals in 3:18. The first was Guentzel's twelfth of the playoffs, making him the first rookie since Dino Ciccarelli in 1981 to score twelve times in a single postseason. The next two goals came 15 seconds apart and prompted Predators head coach Peter Laviolette to replace Rinne with backup Juuse Saros. Despite Nashville heavily outshooting Pittsburgh, goaltender Matt Murray stood his ground, making 37 saves. Nashville never cut into the deficit as Pittsburgh won the game by 4–1.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st NSH Pontus Aberg (2) Viktor Arvidsson (9) and Mike Fisher (3) 12:57 1–0 NSH PIT Jake Guentzel (11) Conor Sheary (5) and Chris Kunitz (6) 16:36 1–1 2nd None 3rd PIT Jake Guentzel (12) Bryan Rust (2) and Ron Hainsey (5) 00:10 2–1 PIT PIT Scott Wilson (3) Phil Kessel (13) and Matt Cullen (7) 03:13 3–1 PIT PIT Evgeni Malkin (9) Chris Kunitz (7) and Ian Cole (8) 03:28 4–1 PIT Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NSH Craig Smith Cross-checking 02:04 2:00 PIT Chris Kunitz Cross-checking 09:36 2:00 PIT Evgeni Malkin Hooking 09:36 2:00 NSH Mike Fisher Interference 10:34 2:00 NSH Roman Josi Cross-checking 14:32 2:00 2nd NSH Austin Watson Interference 11:48 2:00 NSH Cody McLeod High-sticking 17:25 2:00 3rd NSH Pontus Aberg Slashing 04:51 2:00 PIT Sidney Crosby Interference 09:20 2:00 PIT Evgeni Malkin Fighting – major 12:14 5:00 PIT Evgeni Malkin (served by Scott Wilson) Roughing 12:14 2:00 NSH P. K. Subban Fighting – major 12:14 5:00 NSH Cody McLeod Interference 18:01 2:00 PIT Chris Kunitz Slashing 18:29 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 18 14 6 38 12 7 8 27
Game three
Jake Guentzel came within one goal of Dino Ciccarelli's rookie playoff record when a shot 2:46 into the game got past Pekka Rinne. In the second period, Roman Josi and Frederick Gaudreau scored only 42 seconds apart to quickly give Nashville the lead. Neal scored with 23 seconds left in the second to give the Predators a two-goal lead. In the third period, a breakaway by Craig Smith and a goal by Ekholm provided insurance in a 5–1 victory for Nashville. Pekka Rinne made 27 saves to record his first career victory over Pittsburgh, as he had a previously had a career record of 0-7-2 against them. Near the end of the game, several misconducts were assessed after a cross-checking by Phil Kessel drew a crowd and fights broke out.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st PIT Jake Guentzel (13) Ian Cole (9) and Sidney Crosby (16) 02:46 1–0 PIT 2nd NSH Roman Josi (6) – pp Calle Jarnkrok and Mattias Ekholm (9) 05:51 1–1 NSH Frederick Gaudreau (2) Austin Watson (4) and Roman Josi (7) 06:33 2–1 NSH NSH James Neal (6) Viktor Arvidsson (10) and Roman Josi (8) 19:37 3–1 NSH 3rd NSH Craig Smith (1) Unassisted 04:54 4–1 NSH NSH Mattias Ekholm (1) – pp Calle Jarnkrok (5) and Colton Sissons (6) 13:10 5–1 NSH Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NSH P. K. Subban Holding 04:50 2:00 NSH Bench (served by James Neal) Too many men on the ice 12:44 2:00 2nd PIT Justin Schultz Holding 04:13 2:00 NSH Ryan Ellis Boarding 16:37 2:00 3rd PIT Carl Hagelin Roughing 10:42 2:00 NSH Mattias Ekholm Roughing 10:42 2:00 PIT Sidney Crosby Boarding 12:43 2:00 PIT Evgeni Malkin Cross-checking 12:43 2:00 NSH Filip Forsberg Cross-checking 12:43 2:00 PIT Trevor Daley Holding 15:24 2:00 NSH Viktor Arvidsson Holding 15:24 2:00 NSH James Neal Unsportsmanlike conduct 15:24 2:00 PIT Ian Cole Roughing 15:24 2:00 PIT Patric Hornqvist Misconduct 15:38 10:00 NSH Mattias Ekholm Misconduct 15:38 10:00 PIT Phil Kessel Cross-checking 17:01 2:00 PIT Chris Kunitz Misconduct 17:01 10:00 NSH Austin Watson Misconduct 17:01 10:00 PIT Matt Cullen Misconduct 17:01 10:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 13 9 28 12 16 5 33
Game four