Preds Rope-a-Dope Ducks; Reach the Stanley Cup Finals

Talk about surviving a barrage!

There had to be times in Game 6 of the NHL's Eastern Conference title series when Nashville Predators' goalie Pekka Rinne must've thought they were playing with more than one puck out there.

Anaheim's Ducks were that good on the night, and facing elimination, they were that desperate.

As usual in the Stanley Cup playoffs -- and hockey in general -- this wasn't a time or place for shrinking violets. Injuries to key players in this series have been significant factors.

However, it's no surprise that losing two centers doesn't hurt as much as losing one goaltender. Nashville compenstated much better than Anaheim, and that's why this 6-3 victory vaulted them into their first-ever Stanley Cup finals:

It didn't help that the Ducks did some of the damage to themselves.:

Given the stakes and the circumstances -- first-line forward Nick Ritchie had three goals in the series -- this was just dumb:

It's indisputable that this was Rinne's series.

Finland's current best goaltending product stood up to be counted when his team needed him the most, which was early and often. Dude just keeps finding a way to excel with what he's got.

Just like his countrymen.