The 2017 Stanley Cup Finals 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.[1] The Penguins made their second consecutive Finals appearance, marking the third time in their history they had done this, following their appearances in 1991–1992 and 2008–2009. 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 1997 and 1998) 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 Finals.[2]
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 1920 and 1921) and Toe Blake of the Montreal Canadiens (in 1956 and 1957). This was the first Finals since 1983 in which no game was decided by one goal, and the second Finals in three years to have none of its games reach overtime.
- ^ "Stanley Cup Final will begin Monday, May 29". NHL.com. May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ Werner, Steve (May 26, 2017). "Mike Sullivan, Peter Laviolette make Stanley Cup final history". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 28, 2017.