FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 24th, 2016

TONIGHT – TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING CAN ADVANCE TO STANLEY CUP FINAL WITH GAME 6 WIN VS. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Pre-Game Coverage of Penguins-Lightning Game 6 Starts at 7 p.m. ET with NHL Live

San Jose Sharks Can Clinch First-Ever Stanley Cup Final Appearance with WCF Game 6 Win Tomorrow vs. St. Louis Blues at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 24, 2016 – Tyler Johnson and the Tampa Bay Lightning can advance to their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final tonight with an Eastern Conference Final Game 6 victory against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Three-time Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member and analyst Eddie Olczyk, and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

Tonight’s pre-game coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN with NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh, alongside analysts and former players, Mike Milbury, Jeremy Roenick, and Anson Carter.

NBCSN will present Game 6 of the Western Conference Final tomorrow night at 9 p.m. ET, as Joe Pavelski and the San Jose Sharks look to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history with a win against David Backes and the St. Louis Blues.

Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Joe Micheletti (analyst), and Brian Boucher (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) call tomorrow night’s matchup from SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

Through four games, the Sharks-Blues Western Conference Final has averaged 1.570 million viewers, on pace to be NBC Sports Group’s best Western Conference Final (since 2006), excluding series featuring Chicago.

NBC’s Game 4 matchup between the Sharks and Blues averaged 2.269 million viewers to rank as the best viewership for a Western Conference Final game on the networks of NBCUniversal (since 2006), excluding series featuring Chicago.

 

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“NHL Playoff Pass” on NBC Sports Group Press Box provides a quick daily overview of Stanley Cup Playoff coverage, plus information and highlights. The Pass will be published weekdays to preview that evening’s games. Friday editions will include weekend information.

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THE PASS – TUESDAY, MAY 24 (All times ET)

TUESDAY, MAY 24

Time Coverage Network Commentators
7 p.m. NHL Live NBCSN Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury,
Jeremy Roenick, Anson Carter
8 p.m. Game 6 – Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay NBCSN Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie
Olczyk, Pierre McGuire

 

All Stanley Cup Playoff games will be presented on NBC, NBCSN, USA Network, CNBC and NHL Network. NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will provide streaming coverage of games airing on NBC, NBCSN, USA Network and CNBC via “TV Everywhere,” powered by Playmaker Media. For more information on NBC Sports Group’s overall NHL Playoff coverage, please click here.


EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL GAME 6 – PENGUINS-LIGHTNING – TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN – LIGHTNING LEAD 3-2

The Lightning overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 in Game 5 to force overtime and eventually earn a 4-3 win against the Penguins on Sunday night, as Tyler Johnson capped Tampa Bay’s comeback with the game-winning goal just 53 seconds into the extra session. If the Lightning win tonight, they will become the first team to reach back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals since Pittsburgh and Detroit squared off in 2008 and 2009.

Pittsburgh is facing elimination for the first time in this postseason. The last time the Penguins overcame a 3-2 series deficit was the 2009 Stanley Cup Final, when they won Games 6 and 7 to defeat the Red Wings. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan announced today that goaltender Matt Murray will start tonight’s Game 6 with the Penguins’ season on the line, after Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 21 of 25 shots in the Penguins’ 4-3 Game 5 loss. Murray started the first four games of this series before being pulled in Game 4 after allowing four goals on 30 shots. Murray has posted nine wins this postseason, the most for a rookie goaltender since 2006.

 


WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL GAME 6 – BLUES-SHARKS – TOMORROW NIGHT AT 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN – SHARKS LEAD 3-2

San Jose won Game 5 last night in St. Louis by a score of 6-3, as Joe Pavelski scored twice in a 1:43 span in the second and third periods to give the Sharks a lead they would not relinquish. Pavelski leads all skaters in the postseason with 12 goals and is tied with teammate Logan Couture for most points (21). St. Louis forward David Backes and Robby Fabbri, who were both game-time decisions prior to Game 5, contributed with a point each in the loss. The Blues will look to force their third consecutive Game 7 of the playoffs with a win in San Jose tomorrow night.

Both teams are hoping to snap long Stanley Cup Final droughts. The Sharks, who are in their 25th NHL season, have never been to the Stanley Cup Final. The Blues have not made a Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1970.

 


GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the fifth consecutive year, NBC, NBCSN, USA Network, CNBC and NHL Network are combining to televise every Stanley Cup Playoff game nationally.

 

Network Games
NBC 13
NBCSN 49
USA Network 6
CNBC 12
NHL Network 2
Total 82

 

One-goal Games: 45

OT games: 18


NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA
COVERAGE

NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will stream 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff coverage via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.

 

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–