SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Vegas Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant called San Jose Sharks coach Peter DeBoer "a clown" for accusing Gallant of trash-talking Sharks players from the bench during their contentious playoff series, which ends with Game 7 at SAP Center on Tuesday night.

On Monday, DeBoer was asked if the chatter between the teams had dissipated as the series has worn on. "There's still chatter," he said. "Their coach is probably doing the most chatter. He's talking to our players constantly, which is something that I haven't seen before. That's probably where most of the chatter is coming from now. The players are playing."

DeBoer said one of the targets of Gallant's taunts was Sharks center Logan Couture, calling his counterpart's behavior "ridiculous."

Gallant heard about those comments and responded on the morning of Game 7.

"I really don't want to talk about that, but I think I'm going to have to a little bit. For that clown to say that in the paper yesterday, it's not right," Gallant said.

"There might have been two incidents that happened, and I'll tell you both of the incidents. Logan Couture -- I thought that was an embellishment, so I'm yelling at the referee. Not Logan Couture," Gallant said, in reference to a Game 5 incident in which Couture had teeth knocked out by a Jonathan Marchessault high stick but the on-ice officials didn't initially call a penalty.

"The other one, Game 2, Evander Kane is yelling at Ryan Reaves between the benches. Evander yells at me and says, 'Hey, Coach, when are you going to send your big guy on the ice and play him more than four minutes?' And I said, 'He's played 10 minutes every game, and he's going to play a lot more.'"

Gallant said those were the only two occasions in which he made comments regarding a Sharks player.

"If I'm going to be a chirper or a loudmouth -- I think people know me as a coach and respect me as coach. If he's going to yap about that, that's a little un-classy for me," he said.

Vegas players including Marchessault said they were unaware of any egregious "chirping" coming from their coach. "I never saw [Gallant] talk to another guy on the ice other than us. I would not assume that," Marchessault said. "Maybe they're a little extra sensitive."

This isn't the first time DeBoer has gotten into it with an opposing coach. In 2012, while with the New Jersey Devils, DeBoer and New York Rangers coach John Tortorella got into a war of words on the benches and in the media. At one point DeBoer dismissed Tortorella's criticisms of the Devils players as "comical."

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, three keys to its offseason and a way-too-early prediction for what next season will hold.

What went wrong

What went wrong? You mean, besides the humbling inequity of the NHL's playoff format, in which the team with the fourth-most points in the Eastern Conference was forced to play the team with the third-most points in an opening-round playoff series? A system that has seemingly created a debilitating "Groundhog Day" scenario in which the Toronto Maple Leafs were forced into a first-round matchup with their primary tormentors, the Boston Bruins, only to suffer another soul-crushing Game 7 loss?

Beyond that, the Leafs remain a team that scores a ton of goals (3.49 per game) but gives up too many of them (3.04), and they continue to have issues with shot suppression, as only seven teams gave up more per game than did the Leafs in the regular season (33.1). The acquisition of John Tavares turned Toronto into a three-lines-deep offensive machine, but there's work to be done to get to true Stanley Cup contention level.

MANCHESTER, England -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Pep Guardiola were at the centre of a disagreement over tactical fouls on the eve of Wednesday's crucial Manchester derby.

The Manchester United manager held a news conference early on Tuesday and claimed that City deliberately foul high up the pitch to stop opponents from counter-attacking.

But Guardiola rubbished the claims at his own news conference in the afternoon, insisting he has never set up a team he has managed to foul tactically.

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"We have got to be ready for the press, for their pressing, they have got quality on the ball, so we have got to defend well," Solskjaer told a news conference.

"When we win it we have got to be ready for their aggression, because they will snap at your ankles and heels and kick you, they are not going to allow us easy counter-attacking because there will be fouls.

"I have absolutely no doubt about it because when you watch those games they commit so many players forward and they will be stopping us as high as they can I think."

Asked about making tackles high up the pitch, Solskjaer added: "You don't get the yellow cards, do you? But that's just because they commit so many players forward and you can clearly see that they've got them in that mould of trying to win the ball back, and they do make fouls.

"It's up to us to play through that press, be ready enough, play one and two-touch, don't give them time. If you spend two or three touches... it's not my decision."

Solskjaer's comments left some at City some baffled with one source sharing statistics with ESPN FC that don't reflect well on United.

City have committed 288 fouls to United's 381 this season, with 170 in the opposition half compared to 195 for their neighbours. Guardiola's side are also top of the Fair Play table with United in 19th.

Asked if the comments could influence the performance of the referee, the Catalan coach said: "That is the reason why, of course. I don't think [it could be successful] because we don't do that."

Guardiola said he wants his team to win the ball quickly, but insisted that he had never instructed his players to deliberately foul.

"I know exactly what I said to my players from day one to the last day," he said. "So when a player wants to attack, we have to be honest and of course there is contact, there are fouls, but when it happens and you arrive late and that is why there are referees, to make yellow cards or red cards or whatever they decide

"We want to do our game, sometimes it's not possible. Sometimes it's difficult to understand that, but the other teams play too. But I never said I'm going to do that to punish them or cancel them making having fouls. Never."

Barcelona have one hand firmly on the La Liga title after winning 2-0 at Alaves on Tuesday, leaving them 12 points clear at the top of the table with four games to play.

Should second place Atletico Madrid lose at Valencia on Wednesday or against Real Valladolid on Saturday, Barcelona will be champions before they face Levante that evening.

However, Sergio Busquets said he would prefer to win the title at home to celebrate in front of the Camp Nou faithful than to win because of an Atleti slip.

He said: "We would like to win La Liga at home on our own merit and in front of our fans, but at the end of the day it's won when it's won. I hope that it comes as soon as possible but it's better to celebrate it at Camp Nou. What we've done in recent years [nearly eight titles in 11 years] is historic."

With one eye on next week's Champions League semifinal against Liverpool, Ernesto Valverde picked a side with Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba and Arthur among other regular starters on the bench.

After a turgid first half, Barcelona stepped up a gear in the second and midfielder Carles Alena sent the Catalans ahead at Mendizorroza after 54 minutes.

Arturo Vidal and Sergio Roberto combined well, the latter threading a pass through to Alena which Luis Suarez cleverly stepped over, allowing the 21-year-old to coolly slot home.

Suarez added the second from the penalty spot after Tomas Pina's handball was spotted by VAR, putting Barcelona in touching distance of their 26th league title.

Samuel Umtiti bundled home from an offside position but after VAR ruled out the defender's goal, the handball by Pina was penalised.

Valverde brought on Messi, Alba and Arthur in the final stages to help Barcelona see the game out, with title celebrations poised for Saturday, or sooner. Alaves are eighth.

"We started well, we could have gone ahead in the first half," said Alena.

"It took a superb move [to break through], a great ball by Sergi that Luis left for me. He saw me coming behind him and he's such a world class player that he was aware of my movement.

"Let's wait and see what Atletico do tomorrow. If they fail, we're champions. I think we deserve this title, we've been the best team."

Southampton forward Shane Long broke a Premier League record for the quickest-ever goal when he scored on 7.69 seconds against Watford on Wednesday as the hosts struck late to earn a 1-1 draw.

The previous fastest goal was scored in 9.82 seconds by Ledley King for Tottenham against Bradford in 2000.

Long beat Ben Foster after intercepting an attempted clearance by Watford's Craig Cathcart just after kickoff.

Watford's Andre Gray had gone close twice only to be foiled by Saints keeper Angus Gunn, but in the final minute of normal time he found the net from close range.

The rest of the top five for fastest Premier League goals includes Alan Shearer's strike for Newcastle against Manchester City in 2002-03 on 10.52 seconds in third, Spurs' Christian Eriksen against Manchester United in 2017-18 on 10.54 seconds in fourth and in fifth place, Mark Viduka for Leeds against Charlton in 200-01 on 11.90 seconds.

The 178th Manchester derby between United and City, on Wednesday at Old Trafford, will be crucial in deciding the outcome of this season's Premier League title race, but the result of this game will mean as much in Liverpool as it does in Manchester.

With United languishing in sixth position, it is all about whether City can claim the win that will put them on course for the title or if the home side can get the draw or victory that would tilt the balance in Liverpool's favour.

But with United able to decide the fate of their two biggest rivals, this derby is different to any other.

So why does this game matter so much?

This game was originally scheduled for mid-March, but the involvement of both clubs in the FA Cup quarterfinals forced it to be rescheduled for this crucial stage of the league season.

The added dimension is that United know that a win or draw will put traditional rivals Liverpool in pole position to win their first league title for 29 years. Nobody at Old Trafford wants to see Liverpool as champions, but if City win, they will have the title within their grasp instead. This game really is the nightmare scenario for United, who also need to win to boost their chances of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.

What's the big deal about United winning to help Liverpool win the title?

Historically, United and Liverpool are, by some distance, the biggest and most successful clubs in England. United have won 20 titles, Liverpool have won 18. Their rivalry is more than a century old and has often been marred by bitterness and hostility on and off the pitch. Liverpool dominated during the 1970s and 1980s before Sir Alex Ferguson's United became the superpower during the 1990s and 2000s, with United winning 13 titles between 1993 and 2013 to eclipse Liverpool's previous record of 18 titles.

They are two of the biggest clubs in the world, each with a huge global fan base, and their rivalry is as deep-rooted as they come.

Why don't United fans view City as bigger rivals than Liverpool?

The rivalry between United and City has intensified since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan began to plough his vast fortune into City in 2008 -- prompting Sir Alex Ferguson to describe them as "noisy neighbours" in 2009 -- but United have traditionally regarded their rivalries with Liverpool, Arsenal and Leeds United as bigger and more important.

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Aside from a brief spell of success in the 1960s, City rarely challenged until the arrival of Sheikh Mansour, so United supporters have barely regarded them as true rivals. That has now changed but Liverpool are the only club who can come close to matching United's all-time trophy haul and history matters more than the success of their neighbours -- at least for now.

Are United capable of beating City?

On current form, United are huge outsiders even at home. City have won their past 10 Premier League games and on their past two league visits to Old Trafford, while United go into the match having lost six of their past eight games in all competitions. Pep Guardiola's City are the definition of relentless consistency and United, who lost 4-0 at Everton on Sunday, are the polar opposite. But United fought back from 2-0 down at half-time to win 3-2 at City last season and only last month stunned Paris Saint-Germain with a 3-1 Champions League victory at the Parc des Princes.

United have the players to beat City, but recent performances suggest that they won't.

Has this scenario ever happened before?

In 1995, Liverpool found themselves in a similar situation that United face against City. Liverpool knew that a win against Blackburn Rovers, managed by Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish, on the final day of the season would help United win the title and deny Dalglish a historic success with his new club. Liverpool ended up scoring a last minute goal to win 2-1 but United failed to take advantage, with Ferguson's men only able to draw 1-1 at West Ham.

Had United won their game, Liverpool's win would have been crucial in handing them the title.

United were hammered 4-0 at Everton on Sunday. How will they respond?

First of all, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has his own problems to deal with. United need a win to keep alive any realistic hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with a top-four finish, so the Norwegian cannot afford to make wholesale changes and turn to inexperienced youngsters. Rather than making wholesale changes, he's likely to rely on his players wanting to restore personal pride by producing a winning performance against City.

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There's also the issue of upholding United's name and the integrity of the Premier League by pushing City all the way for the points, regardless of what it may mean for Liverpool.

Is the title all over for Liverpool if City win?

No, but Jurgen Klopp's team know that this game is their best hope of City dropping points. United have lost just once at home in the league this season -- against Tottenham last August -- so this is a tough fixture for City. If City come through this one with a win, Liverpool will need them to drop points against Burnley (a), Leicester (h) or Brighton (a) to have any hope of ending their 29-year title drought.

The race will still be on if City win, but Guardiola's men will be in the final straight with the finishing line in sight.

Who are the key men for both teams?

David de Gea and Paul Pogba have both been well below their best in recent weeks, but if they rediscover their form against City, United can win the game. Yet if they perform as poorly as they have been doing, City will cruise to victory.

For City, the form of Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva has been crucial during their 10-game winning run in the league and United need to stop all three to take anything from the game.

What's going to happen?

Despite United's woeful performance at Everton, the clash against City really is too close to call because Solskjaer's men will be expected to show their true colours. In many ways, United's hammering at the weekend was a bad result for City because the pressure is on them to bounce back on Wednesday.

City have the greater depth and quality but United are a wounded animal on their own turf, so expect fireworks and a night of unbearable tension in Liverpool.