As each NHL team is eliminated from the playoffs, 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

A lot went right for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018-19, and a lot went even better than planned. As general manager Don Waddell told ESPN in April: "We'd all probably be telling a fib if we said we thought we'd be here at this point. Certainly we thought we'd be a playoff-bound team. We felt good about the changes we made to the roster. But to end up with 99 points is probably more than we thought. The biggest thing is gaining respect back with the community. That's a big step we've taken this year. We'd always say, 'Next year is going to be the year, next year ...'"

The Hurricanes not only made the playoffs, snapping the NHL's longest postseason drought, but they knocked off the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round, then swept the league's best defensive team in the second.

But once they got to the Eastern Conference finals, the Boston Bruins -- who have the league's hottest goaltender this postseason and saw all four lines producing -- proved to be too much. Carolina had a hard time rediscovering the game that got it to this point, and it was clear that physical and mental exhaustion had set in. The Hurricanes unraveled in the first two games. When the series shifted to Carolina, the Canes threw the kitchen sink at the Bruins in the first period of Game 3. They had 33 scoring chances in the first period alone. But Tuukka Rask was a wall, the Bruins mustered enough offense, and Carolina was defeated. That was too much to recover from.

Let's go back to some bigger-picture positives, because again, this season was not a failure by any means.

The Canes have identified a coach of the future in Rod Brind'Amour, who connected with his players and put together a terrific product on the ice. They established an identity. And as Waddell alluded to, they built back trust in the community. Thanks to the playoff run, by the first round the Canes were already at $2.5 million in new business for season tickets for 2019-20 after being at $400,000 at the same time a year previously. That's a total win.

Bruins sweep Hurricanes to reach Stanley Cup Final

Tuukka Rask posted his seventh career playoff shutout, and the Boston Bruins swept the Carolina Hurricanes out of the Eastern Conference final, winning 4-0 on Thursday night to reach their third Stanley Cup Final in nine years.

Cameron White has signed a BBL deal with Adelaide Strikers after being overlooked for a contract with Melbourne Renegades.

White, 35, joins the Strikers in a playing and mentoring capacity next season after the Renegades elected not to give him a new deal following the signing of Shaun Marsh.

White was also cut from Victoria's contract list for Sheffield Shield and 50-over cricket despite playing in all three Australian domestic titles last season with Victoria and the Renegades.

SACA general manager of high performance Tim Nielsen believes White is a great fit in Adelaide.

"Cameron adds a considerable amount to our side not only with his ability, but also his understanding of the game and he knows what it takes to be in a successful team," Nielsen said.

"In the fast-paced nature of T20 cricket, Cameron's experience will help lead our side immensely, especially in the absence of Travis Head when he is on international duty.

"To have such a distinguished player of our game will only boost our side and our younger players."

White fills a void left by experienced South African Colin Ingram who has left the Strikers due to family reasons.

The Strikers have two spots still available on their list, including an overseas vacancy that, under the new rules, can be filled by up to six players in short stints across the BBL.

White has played in every season of the BBL, beginning his career at Melbourne Stars before moving to the Renegades. He has scored 1546 in 68 BBL innings, including 11 half-centuries, at a strike-rate of 115.89.

He brings a wealth of experience having captained Australia in T20 and ODI cricket and has played five seasons in the IPL.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Brooks Koepka's mastering of the majors continued Thursday at Bethpage Black, where he scorched the harsh layout in the first round of the PGA Championship with a course-record 63.

Koepka, who also shot 63 on his way to victory at the PGA last summer in St. Louis, did not make a bogey and had seven birdies to tie a tournament record for lowest score. He leads by one over Danny Lee, who had a 64 during the afternoon wave, and is four ahead of Tommy Fleetwood.

"I've never been this confident,'' said Koepka, 29, who has won three major championships in the past two years and came up a shot short against Tiger Woods last month at the Masters. "I think I'm still learning, understandably, my game, and I've figured it out. I think over the next few years, I'm excited for what's to come.

"I understand a lot more about my misses, where to hit it, and major championships I just suck it up. You don't always have to aim at the flag like you do in regular events. Sometimes it's just about how few bogeys and doubles you make this week."

Koepka didn't have any of those Thursday, even though he had some wayward tee shots to overcome. He managed to do so by hitting 14 of 18 greens and holing a couple of ticklish par putts; he needed just 25 putts for the round.

He now has gone 31 straight holes without a bogey in the PGA Championship, and this was his 10th straight round under par in majors. His 63 was the 17th in PGA Championship history, and he is the first player to post a 63 in consecutive years at major championships.

In addition, he is just the third golfer with multiple rounds of 63 in major championship history, joining Greg Norman and Vijay Singh.

Ranked fourth in the world, Koepka figured to be a good match for Bethpage Black, a difficult test even in benign conditions. Cool temperatures and an abundance of rain this week made it play even longer than the 7,459 yards.

"That was one of the best rounds I've played probably as a professional," Koepka said. "This golf course is brutal. If you're not going to drive it, it tests every aspect of your game. You've got to drive the ball straight. It's long, so you've got to hit it far and really position yourself with some of these shots in.

"You can't take a shot off, and that's what I love. I think that's why I play so well at U.S. Opens -- this golf course is a typical U.S. Open golf course. If you don't have a good day, you can very easily shoot 5, 6 over. There's a fine line between 5, 6 over and a couple under out here."

Woods was the only player at 3 under to finish under par at Bethpage during the 2002 U.S. Open. Lucas Glover was 4 under when he won here in 2009.

And it was Woods who said Thursday that the 63 by Koepka "was the worst he could have shot. He played well. He had a couple of putts he didn't make."

Said Koepka: "I didn't take care of the par-5s, didn't birdie any of the par-5s. That was disappointing because I felt like, you know, those are holes you should be able to birdie. Definitely can reach 4, and [I] hit a bad driver there. And 13, I can get there, too, and [I] hit it in the bunker. And then the second hole today, my 11th hole, I missed about a 5-footer. That would have been nice to shoot 60. I guess that would have been pretty good."

Heavyweight world titleholder Deontay Wilder's tough talk this week about possibly killing mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale in the ring drew a rebuke from the WBC on Thursday, the same day Wilder continued the same line of discussion at their final news conference.

Wilder will make his ninth title defense against Breazeale on Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

On Tuesday, after a workout for the media, Wilder made chilling comments about the fight.

"Dominic Breazeale asked for this. I didn't seek him out. He [came for] me," Wilder said. "This isn't a gentleman's sport. We don't ask to hit each other in the face but we do anyway. If you ask any doctor around the world he'll tell you the head is not meant to be hit. This is the only sport where you can kill a man and get paid for it at the same time. It's legal. So why not use my right to do so?"

The comments caught the attention of Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of the WBC, whose world title Wilder holds.

"I have seen Deontay Wilder's comments which are regrettable and completely against the spirit of our sport," Sulaiman wrote on social media. "I have known Wilder for a long time and he is not the person he portrays in such comments. His metaphors are against the WBC code of ethics and will be addressed in a hearing."

Sulaiman gave no additional details about the hearing he mentioned and could not be reached for comment.

Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KO), 33, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs), 33, of Eastvale, California, have a deep animosity toward each other stemming from an incident in February 2017, when Wilder retained his title by fifth-round knockout of Gerald Washington and Breazeale knocked out Izuagbe Ugonoh in the fifth round on the undercard.

Later that night, in the lobby of the fight hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, Wilder, his younger brother Marsellos Wilder, Breazeale, and their teams were involved in an altercation. Breazeale, who was with his wife and kids, alleged he was punched from behind by Marsellos. Earlier in the evening, Marsellos Wilder and Breazeale had gotten into an argument at the arena, which spilled over to the hotel later. Police were called following the hotel incident but no arrests were made. Breazeale later filed a lawsuit against Deontay Wilder, which was dismissed a few months later.

At the final prefight news conference on Thursday at Barclays Center, Wilder continued with his violent talk.

"This has been a long time coming for me and Dominic. He asked for this, and he shall receive. Just like the Bible says -- you ask, you shall receive," Wilder said. "Come May 18 at the Barclays Center, he's going to get everything he receives. I'm gonna fade him out, baby. I can't wait. It's gonna be an amazing night for me and sad time for him.

"I want to hurt Breazeale so bad. So bad, my blood is boiling right now. I can barely keep my composure right now. But due to the fact we can't get paid outside of the ring -- there's a lot of money on the line, baby, and my family got to eat. So with that being said I will keep my composure until that time comes. I can't wait. Come Saturday, I can do whatever I want to do. You better gather around your loved ones. You all better gather around him tonight because come Saturday night, he may not be able to talk to you. Trust me. You know I don't play no games."

Breazeale's only loss came to world titlist Anthony Joshua, who knocked him out in the seventh round in 2016. Breazeale has won three fights in a row since by knockout and brushed off Wilder's comments and gave it right back to him.

"I'm excited to be back and get another knockout win," he said at the news conference. "Getting that WBC belt is everything to me. This is my Super Bowl. Victory for me on Saturday is everything. Wilder doesn't know what he's getting himself into. He's in for a fight. He better be confident in his abilities because Saturday night, he's going to be in the toughest fight of his life. I'm going to beat Deontay so bad that he's not going to ever want to lace up the gloves again, not is he going to be physically fit or able to lace up the gloves again.

"I've been dreaming for the last year about hearing 'and the new.' It's a beautiful thing and I can't wait to make it come true and have my hand raised. I'm too mentally in tune to be focused on what someone says. When I go into a fight I don't worry about what my opponent can do, but about what I want to do and how I can execute. None of Deontay's words affect me at all. He's going to keep barking, and I'm just going to keep waiting. I'm going to quiet him down on Saturday night."