Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. While one championship was decided, another is still up for grabs. All of it was compelling, if not a bit surprising as well. It’s going to be a lot of title talk on this week’s “Weekend Recap.”

NHL: Pittsburgh Completes the Repeat

I think we can all agree that the biggest winner of the NHL/NBA postseason has easily been the NHL. That didn’t change last night as the Stanley Cup Playoffs came to a close with the Pittsburgh Penguins winning a barnburner to finish the Predators in six games.

The game itself was a thrilling affair that featured all of the drama that comes with a season on the line. Nashville threw just about everything at Matt Murray to try and force a Game 7, but the Pittsburgh goaltender was brilliant last night. In fact, both goaltenders were the stars of last night’s game.

However, just when it looked like we might be heading for overtime with a scoreless tie, Pittsburgh was able to find a brief moment of offense. Late in the third period, the Penguins started playing “dump and chase” in the offensive end, but a stray slap shot ended up doing the job on the game-winning goal. Pittsburgh caught Pekka Rinne slightly out of position then former-Predator Patrick Hornqvist corralled the rebound off the end board and scored off the back of Rinne.

With 1:35 left on the clock, the Predators had to pull out all of the stops to try to extend the game. Nashville went with an empty net to get the extra attacker, then a misplayed puck allowed speedster Carl Hagelin to put an exclamation point on the night.

Pittsburgh became the first team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98. Sidney Crosby won the Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP) for the second consecutive season. Crosby joined fellow Penguin captain Mario Lemieux and Philadelphia legend Bernie Parent as the only players to win consecutive Conn Smythe trophies.

The champs won’t have much work to do in the offseason, as they will look to lock and reload for another title defense. Las Vegas currently has Pittsburgh as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup next season (8-1 odds). The Penguins will start getting ready to attempt the first three-peat since the Islanders won four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-1983. For the other 30 teams in the league, the road to next year’s Stanley Cup starts next week with the Las Vegas expansion draft and the NHL Draft.

NBA: Cleveland Avoids a Sweep, Ends Golden State’s Chance at History

Kyrie Iriving thrived in the role of “Mr. Do or Die” once again with a fantastic performance in Game 4. Photo Credit: Getty Images

We kicked off the weekend with a potentially historic Game 4 between Golden State and Cleveland. A win by Golden State would have given them a second NBA Championship in three seasons, and clinched the first undefeated postseason in professional sports. The Cavaliers took the opportunity to make some history of their own. Cleveland put in a dominant performance on Friday night, avoiding a potentially embarrassing sweep in emphatic fashion.

LeBron James and company poured it on in Game 4, putting up points at a ridiculous rate. Cleveland won Game 4 137-116, and set numerous Finals records during the game. The Cavaliers set the records for most points in one quarter (49), most points in a half/first half (86), made three-pointers in a half (13), and made three-pointers in a Finals game (24). Golden State and Cleveland also set a record for the most combined points in a half/first half with 154 points.

Scoring records aside, the real story of the game was the incredible performance of Kyrie Irving. The Cleveland point guard dropped 40 points in the game, knocking down seven three-pointers in the game, one shy of the single game Finals record. It was a welcome sight for Cavs fans, who quickly recalled Irving’s three-game run in last year’s Finals that was a catalyst for Cleveland’s championship.

The series now stands at 3-1 with Game 5 tonight in Oakland, where the Warriors will look to clinch a championship at home for the first time in franchise history. For that to happen, the Splash Brothers will have to play much better than they did in Game 4, specifically Steph Curry. While Kevin Durant has been historically great in these Finals, he will need a little help from the other members of Golden State’s “Death Lineup.”

That’s it for me today. Stay tuned tomorrow for “Heat Check” which will have reactions to tonight’s Game 5. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.