Eastern Conference Final Kicks Off on NBCSN Tonight

NBC Sports Group's coverage of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins host Ben Bishop and the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

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 call Game 1 of Lightning-Penguins, and will serve as the broadcast team for the entire Eastern Conference Final.

NBCSN presents Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET, when David Backes and the St. Louis Blues host Joe Pavelski and the San Jose Sharks. Kenny Albert (play-by-play),Joe Micheletti (analyst), and Brian Boucher ('Inside-the-Glass') will serve as the commentary team for the Western Conference Final.

Pre-game coverage begins tonight and Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN with NHL Live. Liam McHughhosts tonight's studio coverage alongside analysts and former players Jeremy Roenick and Keith Jones, while Kathryn Tappen anchors Sunday night's studio coverage with Roenick and Jones.

THE PASS - FRIDAY, MAY 13-SUNDAY, MAY 15 (All times ET)

FRIDAY, MAY 13
Time	Coverage	Network	Commentators
7 p.m.	NHL Live	NBCSN	Liam McHugh, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones
8 p.m.	Game 1 - Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh	NBCSN	Mike 'Doc' Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire
SATURDAY, MAY 14 - NO GAMES
SUNDAY, MAY 15
7 p.m.	NHL Live	NBCSN	Kathryn Tappen, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones
8 p.m.	Game 1 - San Jose at St. Louis	NBCSN	Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti, Brian Boucher

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."

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL GAME 1 - LIGHTNING AT PENGUINS - TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins meet for only the second time in Stanley Cup Playoff history. Tampa Bay defeated Pittsburgh in seven games in their only previous encounter in the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, however, neither Sidney Crosby nor Evgeni Malkin played in that series due to injury. Tampa Bay advanced to the Eastern Conference Final with 4-1 series victories against the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders, led by NIKITA Kucherov, who has netted nine goals in 10 postseason games, tied for first among all skaters with San Jose's Joe Pavelski.

Pittsburgh defeated the New York Rangers in the first round in five games, and followed that with a 4-2 series win against the Washington Capitals, despite just one goal from Crosby and Malkin combined against Washington. The line of Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin, and Nick Bonino carried the mail in the Pens' decisive Game 6 win against the Capitals, scoring all four goals in Pittsburgh's 4-3 overtime win. Pens rookie goaltender Matt Murray has won 16 of his 22 career NHL starts, and has not lost at CONSOL Energy Center since Dec. 30, 2015.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL GAME 1 - SHARKS AT BLUES - SUNDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The Sharks and Blues advanced to the Western Conference Final following blowout Game 7 victories in the Second Round. St. Louis defeated the Stars 6-1 in Dallas in Game 7 on Wednesday night for their second straight series win in seven games, while the Sharks beat the NASHVILLE Predators 5-0 in San Jose on Thursday night. Sharks forward Logan Couture leads all skaters with 17 points this postseason (7g/10a), while teammate Joe Pavelski is tied with NIKITA Kucherov for most goals (9). St. Louis has been led offensively by captain David Backes (6g/6a) and Vladimir Tarasenko (7g/6a).

This will mark the fifth all-time playoff meeting between the Sharks and Blues and the first since the 2012 Playoffs, with the clubs splitting the past four series. San Jose and St. Louis met three times in the regular season; the Sharks won two of the three contests, and the road team won all three meetings. San Jose has never played in the Stanley Cup Final, while St. Louis's last Stanley Cup Final appearance came in 1970.

Following are the telecast schedules for the Conference Finals, all times ET and subject to change.

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL SCHEDULE
Date	Coverage	Network	Time
Fri., May 13	Game 1 - Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh	NBCSN	8 p.m.
Mon., May 16	Game 2 - Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh	NBCSN	8 p.m.
Wed., May 18	Game 3 - Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay	NBCSN	8 p.m.
Fri., May 20	Game 4 - Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay	NBCSN	8 p.m.
Sun., May 22	Game 5 - Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh*	NBCSN	8 p.m.
Tue., May 24	Game 6 - Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay*	NBCSN	8 p.m.
Thur., May 26	Game 7 - Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh*	NBCSN	8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL SCHEDULE
Date	Coverage	Network	Time
Sun., May 15	Game 1 - San Jose at St. Louis	NBCSN	8 p.m.
Tue., May 17	Game 2 - San Jose at St. Louis	NBCSN	8 p.m.
Thur., May 19	Game 3 - St. Louis at San Jose	NBCSN	9 p.m.
Sat., May 21	Game 4 - St. Louis at San Jose	NBC	7:15 p.m.
Mon. May 23	Game 5 - San Jose at St. Louis*	NBCSN	8 p.m.
Wed., May 25	Game 6 - St. Louis at San Jose*	NBCSN	9 p.m.
Fri., May 27	Game 7 - San Jose at St. Louis*	NBCSN	8 p.m.

*if necessary

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	12
NBCSN	40
USA Network	6
CNBC	12
NHL Network	2
Total	72

One-goal Games: 41

OT games: 16

COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL COVERAGE

Through the NBC Sports Regional Networks, comprehensive coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be provided daily via NBC Sports Regional Networks, available in more than 43 million U.S. households. NBC Sports Regional Networks serve the hometown fans of the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals, delivering extensive pre- and post-game coverage as well as breaking news and analysis throughout both teams' playoff runs.

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.

To post a comment, you must register and login.