default-cbs-image

Crank the music in Music City.

With a hat trick from Colton Sissons, last-minute goals from Filip Forsberg and Austin Watson, and another solid outing from Pekka Rinne in the net, the Nashville Predators made history Monday night, eliminating the Anaheim Ducks from the playoffs with a 6-3 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals and advancing to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance.

Without power-play success early on, the Preds found themselves with few shots on goal, even with Anaheim having backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier making his first career postseason start in place of the injured John Gibson. But they made those few shots count, putting two pucks past Bernier in the first period despite the absence of a sidelined Ryan Johansen and putting an early claim on a shot to take on either the Ottawa Senators or defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins for a title.

The Ducks kept on pounding, though, pulling within one on an Ondrej Kase score in the second. Even after Sissons restored the two-goal lead with his second goal, Anaheim refused to bow down against Nashville's blue line.

Anaheim ultimately sent more than 40 shots at Rinne, fighting against a late 1-3-1 trap ordered by Peter Laviolette and knotting the game at 3 with a little more than 11 minutes left in regulation.

That proved to be far too much time for the Predators, who sent Nashville into a frenzy with three consecutive third-period scores of their own -- a third by Sissons, an empty-net glider from Forsberg and a second from Austin Watson.

Forsberg's score, which put the Predators up by two with less than three minutes to go, all but confirmed Nashville's wild postseason story would gain another chapter.

Outnumbering their opponents with more than double the total of shots on goal Monday despite missing two injured forwards, the Ducks could not convert on the power play, going 0-for-4 against the dependable Rinne. Nashville advanced despite a depleted roster in Game 6, overcoming physical shortcomings with the relentless nature that drove it past the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round and the St. Louis Blues in round two.

The aggressive push that turned a potential Anaheim comeback into a home-ice blowout.

And the frenetic pace that mirrored the intensity of a Tennessee fan base set to play host to its first Stanley Cup Final.

Look out, Pens or Sens. Because the Predators have not been quiet about their surge through the postseason, and if their resilient battle Monday that doubled as a showcase of Nashville's scoring talent is any indication, they are far from done.