The Chicago Blackhawks entered the 2017 NHL Playoffs as the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Getting out of the first round appeared to be little more than an inevitable formality.

Except, the Nashville Predators didn’t get the memo.

The eighth and final seed in the Western Conference not only upset the top-seeded Blackhawks, but did so in stunning fashion: by sweeping them in four games, and allowing Chicago to score a paltry three totals goals in four games. The Predators became the first team to sweep a #1 seed in the first round of the NHL playoffs since the league adopted its current playoff format in 1994.

So the question becomes: can Nashville build on that success, and continue their postseason run all the way to the Stanley Cup?

Anyone who knows hockey will tell you that an NHL team can go as far in the playoffs as their goaltender will take them. After posting a commendable (but not really memorable) 2.42 goals against average during the regular season, Predators goalie Pekka Rinne has been a brick wall this postseason, emerging from the first round with a sterling 0.61 goals against average. The veteran goaltender now has over 50 games of experience in the postseason, meaning the stage is absolutely not too big for him.

Many people believe that, while their regular season record didn’t quite show it, Nashville has their most loaded and capable roster since the franchise’s inception in 1998–1999. The trio of Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, and Viktor Arvidsson led the Predators offensively all year long, and continued their high level of play against Chicago. Defenseman P.K. Subban, who was brought in through the heavily-scrutinized trade of Nashville stalwart Shea Webber, has been a steadying — if not galvanizing — force on the blue line.

In other words: this was far from a shocker. Nashville is for real, as many fans around the NHL are about to find out.