Entering the 2017 playoffs as the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Penguins defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games before meeting the Washington Capitals in the second round. After winning the first two games on the road, Crosby sustained a concussion after suffering an injury from a slash and cross-check from Alexander Ovechkin and Matt Niskanen in Game 3. He missed Game 4 but returned to practice the next day and played in Game 5. The Penguins would eventually eliminate the Capitals in Game 7, with Crosby assisting on the series-winning goal. The Penguins then defeated the Ottawa Senators in a gruelling seven-game series to secure their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Crosby had the primary assist on the series-clinching goal, scored by Chris Kunitz in double overtime. Facing the Nashville Predators in the Finals, Pittsburgh jumped out to a two-game lead, despite being outplayed for long stretches in both games. The Predators responded by tying up the series, winning Game 3 and 4 at home. In Game 5, the Penguins' captain delivered a dominant performance, adding three assists in a 6–0 win to pass Lemieux for most Stanley Cup Final points (20) in franchise history. After defeating the Predators 2–0 in Game 6, the Penguins became the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings, and the first to do so in the salary cap era. Crosby won his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs, only the third player to do so after Bernie Parent (1974, 1975) and Mario Lemieux (1991, 1992). He finished second in scoring behind Evgeni Malkin with 27 points (8 goals and 19 assists) in 24 games.