The 2017 Stanley Cup Finals is the championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s 2016–17 season, and the culmination of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. The series pits the Eastern Conference playoff champion and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins against the Western Conference champion Nashville Predators. The Penguins have home ice advantage in the series due to their better regular season record. The series began on May 29, and will conclude no later than June 14.The Penguins are making their second consecutive Finals appearance, this is the third time in their history they have done this following their appearances in 1991 and 1992, 2008 and 2009. No team has appeared in consecutive Finals since the latter year, which was a rematch between the Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. The Predators are making their debut in the Finals. This is 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 last year. This is the first time in NHL history that two US-born head coaches will face off against each other in the Stanley Cup Finals.
