Throughout the history of the NHL hosting regular season games overseas, there’s been a strong correlation between the teams that participate in them and success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators are hoping that trend rubs off on them ahead of their 2025 NHL Global Series clash in Stockholm, Sweden on Friday (2 p.m. ET, 11 a.m. PT, Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).
In the 10 seasons that the NHL has held regular-season games in Europe, six teams involved in the contests have gone on to win the Cup.
And while Nashville currently sits last in the Western Conference’s Central Division with a 5-9-4 record, seemingly behind the 8-ball already, the Penguins are looking to recapture the magic of their decade-old dynasty days.
The Penguins come into the game having lost four of their last five, but still sit third in the Metropolitan Division thanks to a blazing 8-2-2 start.
Through 17 games, Pittsburgh’s longtime leaders and three-time Stanley Cup champions Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have notched 20 and 21 points, respectively, appearing to still have gas in the tank despite pushing beyond 20 NHL seasons into their late 30s.
Pittsburgh has failed to make the playoffs in the previous three seasons, never finishing higher than fifth in its division as its once formidable core has grown less potent with age.
The first time Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang broke through and won the Cup in 2008-09, they started their season with a game in Stockholm. They are the only three players remaining that lifted the Cup in Pittsburgh’s initial win of this era 16 years ago.
The Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings continued a streak of four straight Cup winners up to 2012 that played a regular season game overseas. The Tampa Bay Lightning also won after playing the 2019 Global Series in Sweden and last year’s champions, the Florida Panthers, faced off against the Dallas Stars in Tampere, Finland.
The Penguins will look to return to their winning roots and add to the case that this isn’t all a coincidence, starting against the Predators on Friday. The same two teams meet again Sunday (9 a.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, Sportsnet)
