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 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.

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.

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.

The Predators became the third team to be the lowest seed in their conference in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, joining the 2006 Edmonton Oilers and the 2012 Los Angeles Kings.

[5] 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.

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.

[6] Midway through the first, the Predators took their first-ever lead in a Stanley Cup Finals game when Pontus Aberg scored around Olli Maatta.

The next two goals came 15 seconds apart and prompted Predators head coach Peter Laviolette to replace Rinne with backup Juuse Saros.

[7] 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.

Rinne would stop all nine shots faced in the third period and an empty-net goal by Filip Forsberg gave Nashville a 4–1 win and tied the series 2–2.

Neither team scored in the third period, making Matt Murray the first rookie since Cam Ward in 2006 to record a shutout in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Referee Kevin Pollock thought Matt Murray had covered a Filip Forsberg shot, but the puck was, in fact, loose in the goal crease, when Colton Sissons tapped it in.