As each NHL team is eliminated from playoff contention -- either mathematically or by losing in the postseason -- we'll take a look at why its quest for the Stanley Cup fell short in 2018-19, along with three keys to its offseason, impact prospects for 2019-20 and a way-too-early prediction for what next season will hold.

What went wrong

The Nashville Predators won the Central Division title for the second consecutive season, but something feels stale in Tennessee. General manager David Poile knows his team should be a contender and -- once again -- made big moves ahead of the trade deadline to bolster an already talented squad.

And yet, most of the transactions over the past two seasons haven't equated to victories. In fact, most of the moves haven't really worked out at all. Ryan Hartman, for whom the Predators traded a first-round pick at the 2018 deadline, is already gone. Kyle Turris hasn't produced as well as the No. 2 center as Nashville had hoped. Wayne Simmonds and Mikael Granlund haven't excited anyone. Maybe the problem isn't with the ancillary pieces after all, but with the core.

Nashville had to withstand significant injuries to begin the season, and perhaps that messed with its juju. But there's no excuses for a power play as putrid as the one Nashville trotted out for the regular season (last in the league, at 12.9 percent), one that was even worse in the postseason (0-for-11). And beyond that, the Predators just couldn't match the Dallas Stars' intensity in the playoffs.

When things go wrong, it's always pertinent to ask a fundamental question: Was it coaching or construction? It's impossible to pinpoint just one and -- especially considering the regular-season success -- it's hard to imagine either coach Peter Laviolette or Poile is on a hot seat right now. Also factoring in to this discussion is the latter's history; Poile has fired just one coach in the past 20 seasons.

Fare three well Nashville Predators, a team that felt disjointed all season and was bounced in six games by the Dallas Stars. Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes are headed to a Game 7.

Here's what happened in the NHL last night (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+), and what to watch for tonight, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:

Jump ahead: Last night's games | Three Stars
Play of the night | Today's games | Social post of the day

About last night ...

Game 6: Dallas Stars 2, Nashville Predators 1 (OT) (Dallas wins series, 4-2). The Dallas Stars scored 10 goals in their last two victories over the Predators to set up an elimination Game 6 at home. But this contest fit the template we assumed would characterize most of this series: Two goaltenders dueling until one of the big names on either team made a play. After Austin Watson and Blake Comeau traded goals in regulation, the game went into overtime for the second time in the series.

The Predators won Game 2 in the extra session; this time, it was John Klingberg capitalizing on a great shift by Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov to score his first of the playoffs, and end the Predators' season. Ben Bishop made 47 saves. Pekka Rinna had the bounce-back game Nashville needed from him with 49 saves, but it arrived one game too late. The Stars move on to face the St. Louis Blues.

Game 6: Carolina Hurricanes 5, Washington Capitals 2 (Series tied 3-3). This contentious series between the defending Stanley Cup champions and the "Bunch of Jerks" in their first postseason in a decade will have a seventh and deciding game back in Washington on Wednesday. Which might be good news for the Capitals, as the home team has rolled to victory in each game. In Game 6, that was the Hurricanes, who rallied twice before scoring three unanswered goals in the third period -- a period, it should be said, that saw a controversial goalie interference call go against the Capitals that would have tied the game.

Jordan Staal had the eventual game-winning goal and picked up an assist on Justin Williams's critical goal at 11:58 of the third. You know, Justin Williams ... a.k.a. Mr. Game 7. Just something to keep in mind for the future. Alex Ovechkin scored his fourth of the playoffs but was given a misconduct penalty at 18:52 for sarcastically applauding the on-ice officials.

Three Stars

1. John Klingberg, Dallas Stars. The 26-year-old defenseman did not miss in overtime, scoring his second career playoff goal in spectacular fashion to give Dallas the series win over Nashville. He finished with a goal and five assists in six games for the Stars.

.@johnklingberg>@DallasStars>#StanleyCup>pic.twitter.com/M24T5lFRSS - NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) April 23, 2019

2. Jordan Staal, Carolina Hurricanes. Staal scored a critical goal at 3:51 of the third period to give the Canes the lead, and then added an assist on Justin Williams' goal. He also won 56 percent of his faceoffs.

3. Ben Bishop, Dallas Stars. He made 47 saves to win Game 6 and ended the first round with a .945 save percentage and a 1.90 goals-against average.

Play of the Night

Another angle pic.twitter.com/81yvdfECDt - Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 23, 2019

At 10:34 of the third period, with Carolina up by a goal, Evgeny Kuznetsov snuck a puck in tight on goalie Petr Mrazek. Alex Ovechkin bulled his way to the net and appeared to knock a loose puck in. The Capitals celebrated, but the officials eventually waved off the goal. Why? According to the NHL Situation Room, which reviewed a Capitals coach's challenge, it was "confirmed that Alex Ovechkin interfered with Petr Mrazek by pushing his pad, which caused the puck to enter the net." According to Rule 69.3, "if an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed."

Said Ovechkin after the game: "Yeah, I saw the puck. He didn't control. He didn't see it. I don't know what the referee saw. I don't know what his explanation was. It's kind of weird. It's okay. It's over. Move forward. Nothing you can do right now."

Dud of the Night

Nashville's power play. What would this series had looked like if the Predators' power play hadn't remained powerless? Nashville had the worst power play in the regular season (12.9 percent) and then went 0-for-15 against Dallas in its six-game defeat. That included a man advantage for the last 1:53 of regulation that the Predators squandered.

On the schedule

Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 7, 7 p.m. ET (Series tied 3-3)

The series that everyone figured would go seven games goes seven games. For Toronto, the question is where Mitch Marner and John Tavares went, as they both have two assists and a minus-6 in their last five games. For Boston, the question is whether coach Bruce Cassidy working the refs on the Leafs' alleged skate-bump tactics will work. "Whether it's just dumb luck, or how they battle for pucks," Cassidy said, "we've brought it up with the supervisor."

San Jose Sharks at Vegas Golden Knights, Game 7, 10 p.m. ET (Series tied 3-3)

Vegas coach Gerard Gallant was confident that his team wouldn't be frustrated by playing well enough in Game 6 to deliver a knockout blow to the Sharks, only to lose in double-overtime. But it's hard to ignore the momentum with the Sharks right now, or the fact that Martin Jones has stopped 88 of the last 91 shots he faced. The team that scored the first goal has won each game, and that team also has never trailed in any game.

Social post of the day

Some Pig pic.twitter.com/sLZ99nmbZO - Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) April 23, 2019

Hamilton The Pig, the good luck swine who "watched" the Canes' Game 3 and 4 wins from outside the arena, was inside the arena for Game 6. Time to load up the trough and head to D.C.?

Quotable

"If we were gonna lay an egg there, we might as well have done it now. We're going to go and f---ing plow this thing right to the end." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour in the locker room after Game 6.

MANCHESTER, England -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has insisted he is the right man to lead Manchester United's revival despite a worrying dip in form that has threatened their top four hopes.

United host Manchester City at Old Trafford on Wednesday on the back of six defeats in eight games including a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park.

The run has raised questions about Solskjaer's suitability for the job over Mauricio Pochettino, who has led Tottenham into the Champions League semifinals.

"Well I would like to say yes [I am the right man] but it's not down to me to say that," Solskjaer told a news conference.

"I'm confident in my team and myself. I'll be ready to take this challenge on. I know it's a big challenge and that's why, when I came in here, I said I'm going to enjoy every single second. I don't like losing but it's a challenge all the managers at this club have had.

"When you go through bad results, you've got to be confident enough to say this is the way we're going to do it and plan ahead.

"I like all these boys, I love them because they're great lads. But I've got to make decisions and manage for the club.

"I'm managing the club and helping the players but I manage four the club. But we're going to put all our efforts into making sure we do what we think is right for the club."

United are still in the race to finish in the top four after Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea all dropped points over the Easter weekend. Sitting sixth in the table, they are still just three points adrift of Tottenham in third and Solskjaer believes City is the perfect game for the players to put things right after the desperate display at Everton.

"It's the best game we could ask for with the players hurt as they definitely were," Solskjaer said.

"We had a meeting after the game and all the players were definitely, definitely disappointed and really, really hurt by that performance.

"The City game is the perfect one, there's no hiding place on the pitch and the fans will back you if you give that effort.

"There's always a crisis at Man United whenever you lose a game or two.

"City and Liverpool are two teams who've taken more points in last 18 games. The boys have done fantastic. We've lost three out of the last five league games, that's a bit too many but that's football."

City, who have won five of the last seven league games at Old Trafford, arrive hoping to leapfrog Liverpool and go back to the top of the Premier League table and Jurgen Klopp's side won 2-0 at Cardiff on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's side have scored 87 league goals this season but Solskjaer also pointed out his players should expect a physical challenge.

"We have got to be ready for their aggression," he added.

"They will snap at your heels and kick you. There will be fouls, absolutely no doubt about it, and when you watch those games they commit so many players forward."

Atletico Madrid want to sign Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic on a permanent transfer, sources have told ESPN FC, but the Premier League leaders want €40 million for the Serbia international.

ESPN FC reported that Spain midfielder Rodri is wanted by Manchester City, who could land the 22-year-old by triggering his €70m release clause.

And Atletico Madrid have targeted Liverpool misfit Grujic as a possible replacement.

On loan at Hertha Berlin, Grujic has enjoyed a good season in the Bundesliga, scoring four goals and setting up another in 19 appearances to date.

But the capital club's poor form in recent weeks means they will not feature in Europe next term.

Described as Hertha's "best midfielder in 20 years" by Berlin's outgoing coach Pal Dardai earlier this season, Grujic could showcase his talent in the Champions League by moving to Atletico.

Having joined Liverpool from Red Star in January 2016, Grujic has made just eight brief appearances as a substitute under Jurgen Klopp.

He spent the second half of the 2017-18 on loan at Cardiff, whom he helped win promotion to the Premier League and joined Hertha on a season-long loan in August 2018.

Fernando Torres was struggling. Having scored 72 goals in his first three seasons at Liverpool, he had found the net just once in the first 10 games of what would turn out to be his final half-season at Anfield, in 2010-11.

With Torres' confidence through the floor, his Liverpool manager at the time, Roy Hodgson, tried something unusual to get the goals flowing again for the Spaniard. In training games, according to an interview with former Liverpool defender Daniel Agger a couple of years ago, Hodgson arranged a drill where eight forwards would face just two defenders, allowing them to score more in an apparent attempt to boost the striker's flagging self-belief.

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It didn't exactly work. Torres scored another eight goals before Chelsea paid £50 million for him that January, after which his form fell even further. Torres would later describe this period as the equivalent of "swimming with your clothes on." But it's tough to blame Hodgson too much. The form of strikers is one of football's most delicate and crucial balances and anything is worth trying in an attempt to get it back.

The notion of "form" for strikers is as fragile as it is intangible.

Torres is far from alone. There's Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United's expensive forward and owner of two significant scoring droughts this season, going six weeks without a goal either side of a brief reprieve in form that saw him net six in three games. Or Southampton's Shane Long, who's scored in back-to-back games to snap a run that saw him score just three times in the Premier League since February of 2017. Or Luis Suarez, who has just one goal in his past 20 Champions League matches.

- Ogden from 2018: Lukaku goal drought no shock

It doesn't even have to be a big drought to capture the headlines. Remember the pressure applied to Mohamed Salah following his remarkable 2017-18 season? Despite racking up 19 goals and seven assists in the league this season -- and 24 goals in all competitions for Liverpool -- more was made of his eight games without a goal from Feb. 9 to April 5.

And finally, take Christian Benteke: his goal in Crystal Palace's win over Arsenal on Sunday was his first since April 28, 2018, when he netted in a 5-0 win over Leicester. His first strike in 20+ league matches was a joy to watch, given that the decline of a man who was once such a feared marksman for Aston Villa has been as precipitous as it is heartbreaking to watch.

"He's certainly trying his best to get that goal," said his current manager Hodgson in October. "Really, all we can do is keep working at it and encourage him to keep his game going but, of course, psychologically these things do matter and do have an effect on players."

If that makes you want to give Benteke a hug and a high five, you're probably not alone but in truth, some strikers never recover from a period of bad form, or loss of confidence. Take Alan Smith, the former Arsenal striker, who won the Golden Boot in 1989 and 1991 but by 1992 was stuck in a rut he would never really recover from.

Collapses in form can be triggered by anything or nothing but in Smith's case, it was the arrival of fellow striker Ian Wright, who changed the way Arsenal played away from the structured style that Smith thrived in.

"You couldn't really knock him when he was putting the ball in the net all the time," Smith tells ESPN FC, taking care not to blame Wright, but the change in approach affected him to the point that his confidence disappeared.

In his recent autobiography "Heads Up," Smith wrote: "I began snatching at chances I would normally tuck away without even thinking. Next to Wrighty's lethal marksmanship, my miskicks and fumbles felt totally embarrassing. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow this shadow of a striker who started to dread the prospect of finishing practice."

A goal scorer's job is to be the man to whom everyone looks to win the game, so when that role is altered, it can have a calamitous impact.

"I just tried to fit around it all, which I did find difficult," says Smith, and once a striker gets into that negative mindset, even relatively innocuous-seeming things can become inflated. For example, Smith recounts the time Kevin Campbell, then a youngster who had not long broken into the Arsenal first team, arrived at training in a new Mercedes with a "KEV 9" number plate. But nine was Smith's number: was this young upstart muscling in? Was he being replaced? Is this the end?

"It's not a big thing, although at the time it felt like a big thing," Smith admits, but it's easy to see how seemingly minor things can creep into a striker's head when pessimism has already taken hold. "Looking back, I was probably looking elsewhere to blame somebody else, when I should have been looking at myself."

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When form has disappeared and confidence is low, the cycle becomes self-perpetuating. "You stop making the runs because you stop believing in yourself," former Manchester United striker Andy Cole told ESPN earlier this year. "I've been in that position... psychologically you don't really want the ball."

Smith agrees. "You're not quite sure what you're supposed to be doing, and almost dreading chances coming to you because you're not [confident] at all. Shying away from getting into those goal-scoring positions is the worst thing you can do."

That last point is the key one. A player will stop taking up the positions because they think they will miss, but not taking up the positions virtually eliminates the possibility of scoring and thus regaining confidence. Before long, that avoidance becomes obvious.

Bristol City manager Lee Johnson has worked with dozens of strikers in his six years as a coach and can quickly spot when a striker is hiding. "We're built to spot body language and signs," he says. "You can look at someone's eyes to see if they're glazed over or responsive. And you can quantify it now with statistics. The problem is when players go into their shell after perceived failure."

Of course, it is possible to correct problems like this, and many players turn to sports psychologists for help. Dan Abrahams is currently Bournemouth's lead psychologist and has worked with numerous Premier League and international players, often after they have found themselves in a rut and can't correct things on their own.

"The first port of call is to start having a conversation about what they look like when they're at their best," Abrahams tells ESPN FC. "What are they doing, what runs they're making, what their movement's like, and just trying to break that down into simple statements or key words. For example a striker might say 'I'm alert and lively,' so you build a mental structure around those words.

"That often makes a massive difference on the pitch, because they walk onto the pitch thinking 'I just want to look alert and lively today. I know what that looks like, and feels like. That's how I will judge myself today, and I won't worry if I don't score.'"

From there, a striker might relax and the physiological consequences of low confidence should lessen. "When you get stressed you get desperate," says Abrahams. "You go in the direction of frustration or anger, or you go the other way and get despondent. Your anticipation slows because your muscles are tight, and your decision-making slows."

That's basically what the layman might call "trying too hard."

"Sport tends to be very paradoxical: the more you try, often the worse you perform," Abrahams says.

Players might have these sort of conversations with managers, but when a striker is struggling then the manager will inevitably have to address it publicly. "I don't think you can hide from the truth, whatever that may be," Johnson says. "[When you speak in public] you're talking to your player, not the press: it could be a conscious decision to say he's falling short."

Johnson emphasises what a delicate balance that is between knowing "you've got to keep an element of authenticity about what you're saying," while at the same time avoiding the "high-risk strategy" of actively criticising a player in public.

Ultimately, as outside observers it's easy for us to forget that a striker in a barren run is in all likelihood going through significant turmoil. "I think people underestimate how tough it is to be a footballer," Johnson says. "These boys are 0.0001 percent of people that play -- they've already gone through a lot to get where they are."

Torres went on to win the Champions League, score in the Europa League final and return to his boyhood club Atletico Madrid. Smith's form never really came back and in his own words his career "largely dribbled to a close." Who knows what will happen with Benteke.

But for all of them, this isn't a discussion point or something to be mocked. For a striker out of form, football is not just their job but probably their passion too, and they're failing at it in front of millions every week. They're just looking for a way to stop that from happening.

T20 can be a fickle format at the best of times and it can be a tough ask for batsmen to come in under pressure needing score from the off. But still, Ashton Turner's current run of five ducks in a row - four of which have been first ball - is certainly eye-catching, for the wrong reasons. Here's a recap of the bad run.

Adelaide Strikers v Perth Scorchers, BBL, Adelaide: lbw b Laughlin

7.2 LBW! Two in three balls! This was 132kph, full and straight, he was caught on the crease, maybe thinking a slower ball was coming, he was hit on the knee roll infront of middle and it wasn't a tough decision. That was plumb.

India v Australia, 1st T20I, Visakhapatnam: b K Pandya

16.2 96.6 kph, and they are only going to get louder! Is there a way back for India still? Turner shuffles across and looks to sweep him fine, not the best idea against a wicket-to-wicket bowler like Krunal, and he is cleaned up

Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Mohali: c Miller b M Ashwin

16.3 duck on IPL debut! This, strangely enough, is a slow, tossed up legbreak, possibly because Ashwin thinks he can bait the big hitter into a false shot. And bait him he does. The equation makes Turner go for it. The turn on the ball makes the shot go to long-off when he is looking to go dead straight. Miller runs in and takes the catch and Royals are in a mess again

Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians, IPL, Jaipur: lbw Bumrah

18.1 make that 0, 0, 0, 0. Bumrah's deadly inward angle and skiddiness does in another batsman. Turner's front leg moves half-forward and across the stumps, and he ends up playing around his front pad looking to work it into the leg side. The angle beats his inside edge, and it's the plumblest of lbw decisions thereafter

Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Capitals, IPL, Jaipur: c Rutherford b Ishant

16.4 GONE AGAIN! Slower ball, outside off, and he was looking to get towards covers, but just popped it up towards Rutherford at cover. Third golden duck in a row! Somewhere, you just know Ajit Agarkar is watching and smiling

He was cramping. The left forearm was losing strength on an incredibly hot evening. Thirty-six degrees, dry heat, at 9.30pm. But Ajinkya Rahane wasn't in the mood to give up. Twice the substitute fielder tried to run in with a drink, twice the umpire objected and twice Rahane was lost in his own routines.

He was fixated on adjusting his helmet and ensuring the right thumb sat properly inside the right glove compartment. Then he examined his bat grip and looked suspiciously at the toe-end as he looked to accelerate. He was in his batting zone. You could've displayed the Game of Thrones finale spoiler on the giant screen and he wouldn't have noticed. He was losing fluids, but replenishing his thirst with runs.

The fatigue wasn't going to stop him from making a statement though. When he got to his century, the determination was writ large. He pointed to the dressing room, not once but twice, and quietly pumped his fists. The typical Rahane smile was missing though. Few in his position would have.

ALSO READ: Talking points: Rahane's dream T20 innings

In the past week he's been dealt a few blows. He's been told 'sorry, but you're not in our World Cup plans', given a message that his captaincy wasn't working for Rajasthan Royals and that he had to hand the job back to his predecessor.

This could've been upsetting and possibly a huge dent on the ego. But then, Rahane isn't Virat Kohli, whose batting has somewhat covered up for a string of ordinary results. The only way Rahane could have escaped the ignominy of being left out was if he scored runs. That could've happened only if he rid himself of all the self-doubts and brought the fun back into his batting.

In his first outing after losing the job, he failed. On Monday, he ran Sanju Samson out for a diamond duck, a batsman who could've eased the pressure on Rahane with his silken touch. Now, Rahane was properly under the pump and yet he came out and stuck to an old cliché of his: "follow the process", which essentially in Rahane's book means relying on his timing and not trying to bat like Chris Gayle. His first boundary on the up through extra cover off Ishant Sharma was signature Rahane. It set the tone.

Up until then, each time he'd started well, he'd invariably lose rhythm trying to hoick and heave his way in as the ball got softer. Here, he sustained momentum right through. He raised the half-century off 32 balls and then reached his second T20 hundred off the next 26 balls. It had come at the same pace as Kohli's earlier in the season, much quicker than KL Rahul's or Sanju Samson, the other three Indian centurions.

He was lucky, too, when Ishant put down a sitter at short fine leg early in his innings, but after that he was batting with the freedom and authority he's rarely displayed in recent times. He flat-batted the tournament's best bowler Kagiso Rabada over his head, laced cover drives on the up for fun, as if he was taking his Audi out for a spin in Mumbai's Eastern Express Highway, and even made the scoops and paddles off the fast bowlers look ridiculously easy.

For a neutral in Jaipur, this was just a teaser, because the thrill was yet to come. Where Rahane had shown an extra gear to his batting and the ability to innovate at times, Rishabh Pant was finishing the game off for his team, fighting his way back into form after a brief lull where his shot selection earned a fair bit of criticism.

Playing on two-paced Feroz Shah Kotla pitches had frustrated the Delhi Capitals batsmen no end. Here at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, on a surface that played far better than it looked, Pant was like a kid who had ditched the homework for his Playstation the moment his parents left the house.

Relying on his muscle, the hand-eye coordination, playing without the fear of the ball holding up and doing those little tricks, he brought up a brutal half-century, like he did in a winning cause at the Wankhede, where anything he hit kept sailing away. As a fielder, you had to sit and pray that he didn't hit it towards you, because he hit them so hard.

The message was clear. Pant was looking to throw the bowlers off gear, making a mockery of tight situations by bringing out his audacity. Yet, as the game veered towards the close, his astute awareness about whom to target and when to back off stood out.

Jofra Archer was bowling the 19th. He likes to hit the hard lengths or go for the yorkers. Pant waited patiently for five deliveries and then, with one ball left, decided to show his muscle and connected cleanly over long-on, with Capitals needing 13 off 7 balls.

He wasn't second-guessing, he was instinctively reacting to the ball. Seeing it, hitting it. Here he had paced his innings well, picking his spots, picking which bowler to target and then clinically bringing the target down, much like the man who he idolises - MS Dhoni - had done a day earlier in Bengaluru.

You couldn't help but think of what could've been had these two special knocks come a fortnight earlier.