Stanley Cup Playoff Conference Finals Begin This Weekend on NBC and NBCSN

NBC Sports presents the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Eastern and Western Conference Finals this weekend on NBC and NBCSN, as the Anaheim Ducks, NASHVILLE Predators, Ottawa Senators, and defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins continue their quest to raise Lord Stanley's Cup in June.

Coverage begins tonight with Game 1 of the Western Conference Final at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN, as Ryan Getzlaf and the Ducks host P.K. Subban and the Predators. Pre-game coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN with NHL Live.

Saturday's coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC, immediately following third-round coverage of the PGA Tour's THE PLAYERS Championship, when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins host Erik Karlsson and the Senators in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Sunday night's coverage features Game 2 of the Western Conference Final between the Predators and Ducks at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Five-time Emmy Award-winner Mike 'Doc' Emrick (play-by-play), who won his fourth consecutive Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality - Play-by-Play at last week's Sports Emmy Awards, will call the Senators-Penguins Eastern Conference Final. He will be joined by U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire ('Inside-the-Glass analyst).

Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Joe Micheletti (analyst), and Brian Boucher ('Inside-the-Glass' analyst) will handle game commentary for the Predators-Ducks Western Conference Final.

THE PASS - FRIDAY, MAY 12-SUNDAY, MAY 14 (All times ET)

FRIDAY, MAY 12
Time	Coverage	Network	Commentators
8 p.m.	NHL Live	NBCSN	Kathryn Tappen, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones
9 p.m.	Game 1 - NASHVILLE at Anaheim	NBCSN	Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti, Brian Boucher
SATURDAY, MAY 13
7 p.m.	Game 1 - Ottawa at Pittsburgh	NBC	Mike "Doc" Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire
	NHL Live (Intermission Reports)	NBC	Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones
SUNDAY, MAY 14
7 p.m.	NHL Live	NBCSN	Liam McHugh, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones
7:30 p.m.	Game 2 - NASHVILLE at Anaheim	NBCSN	Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti, Brian Boucher

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs - will live stream all games airing on NBC, NBCSN, usa network and CNBC, all via "TV Everywhere."

For more information on NBC Sports Group's overall NHL Playoff coverage, please click here.

TONIGHT - MAY 12

NHL Live, hosted by Kathryn Tappen with analysts Mike Milbury and Keith Jones, begins at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

The Predators and Ducks clash in the Western Conference Final in a rematch of their first-round series last year, when the Predators came back from a 3-2 series deficit to eliminate the Ducks in seven games. Goaltender Pekka Rinne has led the Preds to their first-ever Conference Final. Rinne has gone 8-2 this postseason with two shutouts, has allowed one goal or fewer in six of 10 games, and has yet to allow more than three goals in a game. Nashville's top four defenseman have combined for nine goals and 27 points in the postseason, led by Ryan Ellis (4g/5a), Roman Josi (4g/4a), and P.K. Subban (1g/6a).

The Ducks vanquished their Game 7 demons on Wednesday with a 2-1 win against the Oilers to advance to their second Western Conference Final in three seasons. Anaheim had been eliminated in Game 7 losses at home in four consecutive seasons prior to Wednesday. Ryan Getzlaf leads the Ducks with 15 points (8g/7a) in the postseason, followed by Jakob Silfverberg (7g/4a) and Rickard Rakell (6g/4a). This marks the eighth consecutive postseason that a California-based team will play in the Western Conference Final.

SATURDAY, MAY 13

The Senators have qualified for the Eastern Conference Final for just the third time in franchise history, and the first time since the 2007 season, when they defeated the Sabres in five games before losing to Anaheim in the Stanley Cup Final. Ottawa defeated the Bruins in six games in the first round, and beat the Rangers in six games in the second to advance this year. Erik Karlsson leads Ottawa with 13 points (2g/11a), and scored the eventual game-winner in the Sens' Game 6 win against the Rangers.

Pittsburgh continues its defense of the 2016 Stanley Cup title following a grueling seven-game series with Washington. The Penguins dispatched the Presidents' Trophy winners for the second straight year with a 2-0 win in Game 7, as Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots in a shutout win. Pittsburgh boasts three of the top five point-getters thus far in the postseason in Evgeni Malkin (18 pts), Jake Guentzel (14 pts), and Sidney Crosby (14 pts). This is the first time the Pens and Sens have met in the postseason since 2010, when Pittsburgh defeated Ottawa in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal in six games.

SUNDAY, MAY 14

NBCSN will present Game 2 between the Predators and Ducks at 7:30 p.m. ET NHL LIVE will handle pre-game coverage on NBCSN at 7 p.m. ET.

2017 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS AVERAGING 988,000 VIEWERS; UP 7% THROUGH FIRST TWO ROUNDS VS. 2016

Featuring two Game 7s that produced the most-watched doubleheader in NBCSN history, and a high-profile series between the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals -- and despite the presence of two Canadian teams this year vs. zero last year -- the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs continued the viewership increases that began in the first round, according The Nielsen Company and Adobe Analytics.

Through the first two rounds (65 games), the Total Audience Delivery (TAD) for NBC Sports Group's coverage of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoff is averaging 988,000 viewers across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app, up 7% vs. last year's playoffs (925,000) and the best in three years. Click here for more info.

NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all Stanley Cup Playoff games to desktops, tablets, and connected TVs. The NBC Sports app will stream coverage via "TV Everywhere," giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. Powered by Playmaker Media, the NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Win10, and Xbox.

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