Nicholle Anderson put it best.

Craig Anderson's wife, diagnosed with cancer in the fall, took to Twitter after watching her husband and his Ottawa Senators fall to the Pittsburgh Penguins in double overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final:

It was an agonizing defeat, but so much of this incredible Sens' season was about more than hockey.

Craig, asked what he'd remember about 2016-17, put it eloquently: "Love."

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The smart money's on the Pittsburgh Penguins to defeat the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Final and repeat as champions.

Here are your Cup Final odds, courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook:

The teams split two games during the regular season.

Nashville won 5-1 on Oct. 22, while the Penguins defeated the Preds 4-2 on Jan. 31. Marc-Andre Fleury faced Juuse Saros in goal in that first game (Fleury allowed five goals on 23 shots and was pulled for Mike Condon), while Matt Murray and Pekka Rinne battled in the second meeting.

The latter two will be in the crease Monday night when Game 1 is played in Pittsburgh, barring any injuries.

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Pittsburgh Penguins. Nashville Predators. The 2017 Stanley Cup Final is set.

We knew this year's championship round would start Monday (and sure, we also knew the dates for all seven potential games), but all of the loose ends were tied up when the Penguins eliminated the Ottawa Senators in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday night.

The Penguins will have home-ice advantage by virtue of having a better record during the regular season.

Here are the dates and times as well as the TV info for the Cup Final.

*If necessary

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Craig Anderson just about willed the Ottawa Senators to the Stanley Cup Final.

The goaltender turned in another marvelous performance in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday night, but it wasn't enough, Ottawa falling 3-2 in double overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After a tumultuous season that saw Anderson's wife Nicholle diagnosed with cancer, and led to the shot-stopper missing significant time away from the team, Anderson put it perfectly when asked how he'd remember the 2016-17 season.

The Senators embodied the word "team" in every sense of the word, ending the playoffs 6-2 in overtime games, and coming oh so close to playing for the sport's ultimate prize.

Salute, Mr. Anderson. You were incredible, all season long, on and off the ice.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Thursday to advance to their fourth Stanley Cup Final since 2008 and, of course, Twitter went nuts after Chris Kunitz buried the double-overtime winner.

With so many intriguing storylines to follow in this series, the postgame tweet reaction was worth a read:

Some of us enjoyed the Game 7 action a little bit too much.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final goes Monday when the Penguins face off against the Nashville Predators.

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For the first time in NHL history, two American-born head coaches will square off in the Stanley Cup Final, according to the NHL Coaches Association.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, a native of Marshfield, Mass., rallied his team to the final by winning two Game 7s. He made a series-altering decision against Ottawa by starting Matt Murray in Game 4 after Marc-Andre Fleury had carried them up to that point.

Peter Laviolette, a native of Franklin, Mass., has masterfully led his team to a 12-4 record on the road to the Cup Final. His willingness to adapt to his opponent has been put on full display. The Predators played more of a defensive, trap style against the high-flying Blackhawks in Round 1, but then upped the tempo against St. Louis and Anaheim.

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It's a Penguins-Predators Stanley Cup Final.

Pittsburgh defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in double overtime of Game 7 on Chris Kunitz's one-timer winner to advance to the main event. The defending champs are four wins away from repeating.

Sidney Crosby set up the series-winning goal, and it was Kunitz's second tally of the game, after going more than 30 games without a goal.

Goaltender Craig Anderson was the best Senator on the night, stopping 39-of-42 shots, but Ottawa's magical playoff run is over. And what a run it was.

Pittsburgh will host Nashville in Game 1 on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET.

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Charles Barkley prefers actual competition.

The former NBA great and current TNT broadcaster was basically done with Game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics at halftime Thursday.

Here's a video of Barkley letting his feelings be known:

There's nothing better than Game 7 of an NHL playoff game. And overtime, to boot! Barkley knows what's up.

The Cavs destroyed the Celtics, by the way, and LeBron James is off to his seventh straight NBA Finals.

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Marc Methot can lay the body.

That much was clear Thursday, when the Ottawa Senators D-man took Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin off his skates and out of the play with a nasty - but clean - hip check.

The hit was laid near the end of the second period with the game tied at 1-1.

Methot has some previous experience in the hip-check department:

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Erik Karlsson has set the Ottawa Senators record for assists in a playoff year with the primary helper on Ryan Dzingel's game-tying goal late in Game 7. His 16th assist surpasses Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, who tallied 15 a decade ago during Ottawa's run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Karlsson's feat is especially impressive considering he plays defense, and reached 16 assists in his 19th game, whereas is took Spezza and Heatley an even 20 to record 15.

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