Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas faced the music on Thursday after being eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Bruins, and did not fully commit to Mike Babcock - or to anyone else - going forward.

"I wouldn't give any guarantee to anybody in our whole organization, starting with me," Dubas replied when asked about Babcock's job security at his end-of-year press conference, via Sportsnet. "We'll do what we think is best and we'll let you know when we know."

Dubas prefaced his non-guarantee of Babcock's job security by saying team president Brendan Shanahan must first evaluate his work as the general manager.

"The way I look at that is (Shanahan) has to decide on me first, and do an evaluation on me," Dubas said. "And once that's done we evaluate everybody."

Babcock, who has four seasons remaining on his eight-year, $50-million deal, insisted earlier that his relationship with Dubas is "really good," according to TSN's Kristen Shilton.

On Thursday, Dubas also took responsibility for the William Nylander contract saga during the season and for the Maple Leafs' poor penalty kill in the playoffs.

"The blame for the (Nylander) situation going that far has to go to me," Dubas said. "I don't think it set William up to have a good season, and I accept that."

The 33-year-old Dubas added that he's hoping for better things next season after another first-round playoff exit.

"I know that I have to do a better job, continue to improve and help our players," he said. "And hopefully we meet under a different set of circumstances in about 13 months from now, or more, we hope."

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The NHL reached out to George McPhee to issue an apology for the officiating in Game 7, the Vegas Golden Knights general manager told reporters, including The Athletic's Jesse Granger, on Thursday.

"They made a mistake and I’m sure they feel bad about it," McPhee said.

Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin was handed a controversial five-minute major and a game misconduct in the third period of the decisive contest against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night for cross-checking Joe Pavelski, who left the game bloodied and didn't return.

The Sharks, who trailed 3-0 when the penalty was called, scored four times on the power play and ultimately prevailed in overtime.

Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault called the major penalty "a f---ing joke" and "embarrassing" when asked about it postgame.

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Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, and Patrick Kane have been voted the three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award, the NHLPA announced Thursday.

The honor recognizes the most outstanding player in the NHL, as selected by his peers.

More to come.

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The latest upset in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs carried added meaning for "Mr. Game 7."

Carolina Hurricanes captain Justin Williams acknowledged as much after his club eliminated one of his former teams, the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, in double overtime in Game 7 on Wednesday night.

"There's a little bit extra," Williams told reporters postgame, including The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno. "I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to say this is just another series."

The 37-year-old forward, who set up Brock McGinn's game-winning goal, wasn't going to be satisfied with merely making the postseason.

Williams played for the Capitals during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons before rejoining the Hurricanes for the following campaign.

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The year of the underdog?

All four division winners were defeated by wild-card teams in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, busting brackets across the globe. It's the first time in league history that every division winner has been eliminated in the opening round. In fact, only three of the top 10 teams in the league remain in the hunt for the Cup.

The Atlantic's Tampa Bay Lightning were swept in four games at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Pacific's Calgary Flames were the next victims, falling in five games to the Colorado Avalanche, followed by the Central's Nashville Predators losing in six to the Dallas Stars. And on Wednesday, the Metropolitan winners and defending Stanley Cup-champion Washington Capitals lost in a double-overtime Game 7 thriller to the Carolina Hurricanes.

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Much like the first two Game 7s of these Stanley Cup Playoffs, the third one in two nights doesn't lack storylines.

Here are three significant subplots to monitor in the decisive contest between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night:

Svechnikov's health

Andrei Svechnikov has been going through concussion protocol since his Game 3 dustup with Alex Ovechkin. Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour said Tuesday that the talented Hurricanes forward could play in Game 7 if he's cleared beforehand, according to the team's senior web producer Michael Smith. Brind'Amour had no further update when asked for one Wednesday.

Carolina has proven it can win without Svechnikov, taking two of three from Washington without the dynamic 19-year-old winger in the lineup, but it may have to do that one more time in another win-or-go-home affair against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Even if Svechnikov plays, there will still be questions: Is he fully healthy? How quickly can he shake off the rust after missing a few games? How much of an impact will he ultimately have?

Capitals need more from Kuznetsov

On paper, it might look as though Evgeny Kuznetsov is having a fine series, as he's notched five assists in six games.

However, a closer inspection of his play would indicate otherwise. The typically explosive 26-year-old center hasn't dominated the way he did while leading all playoff point producers last year, and the Capitals will need him to raise his game with the season at stake Wednesday night.

Kuznetsov and the rest of Washington's forward group have to provide Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom with some support on the offensive end in the continued absence of T.J. Oshie.

Mrazek must be magical

Simply put, Petr Mrazek has to be lights-out for the Hurricanes to vanquish the more experienced Capitals in Game 7.

The Carolina goaltender seized the No. 1 job with stellar play down the stretch in the regular season, but he's been a bit inconsistent so far in the playoffs. Mrazek surrendered four goals in a Game 2 loss and six in a Game 5 defeat but allowed two goals or fewer en route to victories in Games 3, 4, and 6 for a save percentage of .895 across the six first-round contests.

Washington netminder Braden Holtby hasn't been spectacular for the whole series, either, but Mrazek has to outplay his more accomplished counterpart to give Carolina a legitimate chance to pull off the upset.

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The Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators have both asked to speak with Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Jacques Martin for their respective head coaching vacancies, Sportsnet's John Shannon reported.

Martin has spent the last six seasons with the Penguins, which included two Stanley Cup victories. Previously, his lengthy head coaching career started in 1986 with the St. Louis Blues and he notably oversaw the Senators from 1995-2004. Overall, he's a four-time Jack Adams Trophy nominee and won the award as the league's top coach in 1999.

The Sabres fired Phil Housley earlier in April after two seasons in charge. He failed to turn around the struggling franchise, missing the playoffs in both campaigns.

The Senators moved on from Guy Boucher in March during a disappointing campaign. Marc Crawford took over on an interim basis en route to a last-place finish in the NHL.

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