NHL Playoffs 2017: Updated TV Schedule, Title Odds Before Game 7 Action

The NHL Eastern Conference Final comes down to one last game between the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the surprising Ottawa Senators, who have been underdogs every step of the way during their playoff run.

The Sens pulled off a 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Penguins in Game 6 of their series Tuesday night to force a seventh game Thursday. That win came on the heels of a 7-0 loss in Game 5 that appeared to drain all energy from the visitors.

But head coach Guy Boucher made a strategy change that allowed his team to regain its stride and fight on even terms with Pittsburgh. Boucher urged his team to concentrate on defense in Game 6 following the blowout loss.

That strategy did not help the Senators in terms of territorial play through the first two periods. Pittsburgh dominated much of the action, as the Penguins put 34 shots on Craig Anderson after 40 minutes.

The Ottawa goaltender did not give in, only allowing one Evgeni Malkin goal. That second-period tally gave the Penguins a brief lead, but the Sens tied it on Bobby Ryan's power-play goal, and they took the lead on a Mike Hoffman slap shot in the third period.

Anderson held out to give the Sens a victory and force a seventh game. The 36-year-old goaltender finished with 45 saves on the 46 shots he faced.

He relishes the opportunity to play in a seventh game. 

"You never know when it's going to happen again," Anderson said, per Chris Stevenson of NHL.com. "As a young player, you always think, 'There's always next year.' When you get to be a guy my age, you run out of next years. You make the most of your moments, and if it's in your cards to be one of the select few to be able to be in the opportunity we're in, it's definitely an honor."

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The Penguins have the advantage of playing at home, and they also have a couple of superstars in Malkin and Sidney Crosby who have demonstrated that they know how to come through when their team needs them the most.

The Pens have also gotten a lift in goal from Matt Murray, who took over from Marc-Andre Fleury prior to Game 4. 

Murray registered a shutout in Game 5 and has looked sharp in his three games this postseason. He has a 1.33 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage.

If the Senators are going to win on the road, they are going to have to tighten up on defense. They can't allow the Penguins to throw 46 shots on goal again.

Boucher doesn't care how his team gets it done in Game 7; he just wants them to find a way.

"The goal is to generate more goals than the opponent, and that's what we did [Tuesday]," Boucher said, per Stevenson. "That's all we're asking for. We have to win the same way. There's no other way for us to win. That [was] exactly the problem [in] the previous games. We tried to win another way, and we got our butts kicked."

The Senators and Penguins will face off at 8 p.m. ET Thursday night at the PPG Paints Arena. NBCSN will broadcast the game.

The Penguins are the heavy minus-204 favorites, according to OddsShark, meaning a Pittsburgh bettor would have to risk $204 to earn a profit of $100. The Senators are plus-183.

The winner of Thursday's series-deciding game will meet the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Final. The series opener is scheduled for May 29, with game time scheduled for 8 p.m. ET, and it will be televised by NBC. Since the Preds were the eighth-seeded team in the Western Conference, the Eastern Conference winner will have home-ice advantage.

Going into Game 7, the Penguins are minus-105 favorites to win the Cup, while the Preds are slightly behind at plus-115. The Senators are big underdogs at plus-1,200.