As NHL teams are officially eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, theScore NHL freelance writer Katie Brown takes a look back at the highs and lows of their season, along with the biggest questions ahead of 2018-19. The seventh edition focuses on the Ottawa Senators.

The Good

There remains some talent up front. While the top six would look a little better with Derick Brassard still there, the Senators have a decent amount of skill in their forward group, including Mike Hoffman, Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, and Ryan Dzingel. Stone leads the team in scoring and is a restricted free agent July 1. Duchene, another player the Senators hope to sign to an extension this summer, has been one of their best players since his trade from the Avalanche, with 41 points in 61 games. He and Hoffman have found chemistry as linemates, and Dzingel has a career-high 20 goals.

Filip Gustavsson. Acquired in the trade that sent Brassard to Pittsburgh, Gustavsson is one of the best goaltending prospects in the world. He was a star at the World Junior Championships, where he had a 1.81 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in six games. As Ottawa examines where its goaltending is headed with Craig Anderson’s contract up in 2020, knowing it has Gustavsson in the pipeline should be a comfort.

Erik Karlsson’s mostly solid season. Karlsson continued to be a bright spot for the Senators during an otherwise joyless season. He’s fifth in scoring for defensemen and seven points off the lead with 58. Karlsson had his share of ups and downs, missing the first five games of the season for recovery from ankle surgery (that removed part of his ankle bone) and then losing his unborn son in March. The fact he’s been able to put up nearly 60 points despite all that is a testament to his elite talent.

The Bad

Major goaltending problems. Many of the Senators’ woes can be attributed to some truly abysmal goaltending. Anderson’s save percentage is under .900 and backup Mike Condon's is only slightly better at .902, both far below the league average of .913. This is especially concerning when you consider Anderson’s body of work in Ottawa and his terrific play that helped the team reach the Eastern Conference Final last year. The Senators might be in contention for the playoffs if they had even remotely consistent performances from their goaltenders.

An irate fanbase. Between the Karlsson trade rumors and threats of relocation because of poor attendance and other issues, Senators fans are becoming increasingly frustrated with owner Eugene Melnyk and the overall direction of the team. Some even pooled money for a billboard calling for Melnyk to step down. The team's owner doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, but he has a lot of work to do to win back the fans' trust.

One of the worst seasons in franchise history. Surely the Senators set out to make a different kind of history than having the fifth-worst season in franchise history. It was the worst since 1995-96 when they won only 18 games. This was a team that was one goal away from the Stanley Cup Final last year. How did everything fall apart so quickly?

The Questions

Will Karlsson be traded? Trade rumors swirled endlessly around Karlsson, especially toward the deadline. Now, the Senators are faced with the choice to either re-sign Karlsson or let him go, probably along with Bobby Ryan, to clear some salary from the books. He’s regarded as one of the best defensemen in the league and would command a serious haul in a trade.

What happens to Guy Boucher? Every aspect of the Senators organization will be scrutinized this summer - and head coach Boucher is no exception. He’s in the last year of his contract and there’s a good possibility he won't be behind the bench in Ottawa next year. His fate will ultimately come down to whether he fits with ownership’s vision for the future of the franchise.

What can be done to turn things around? Melnyk has promised Senators fans a rebuild - but what exactly does that entail? Are Ryan and Karlsson part of that plan? There’s also the matter of the first-round pick Ottawa relinquished to Colorado in the Duchene trade. The Avalanche could get a first-rounder in 2018 or 2019, but the Senators get to decide on the year. That decision will have a bearing on where the Senators are headed. Where they land in the draft lottery will have an effect, too. If they’re inside the top five, it would be wise to keep the pick this year.

Other entries in this series:

• Arizona Coyotes
• Vancouver Canucks
• Buffalo Sabres
• Chicago Blackhawks
• Montreal Canadiens
• Edmonton Oilers

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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Somehow, the Calgary Flames' disappointing season continues to get worse, as head coach Glen Gulutzan dealt fans some more bad injury news Wednesday.

Forward Matthew Tkachuk and blue-liner T.J. Brodie have both been dealing with upper-body injuries over the past few weeks, and according to Gulutzan, both players have likely played their last game of this season.

"I'm not seeing that, with what's going on," Gulutzan said of potential returns for Brodie and Tkachuk.

"I wouldn't rule it out completely, but it’s doubtful at this point. I don't foresee either of them back before the end of the season."

The Flames are already eliminated from the playoffs, but the season-ending injuries are still salt in the wound for Gulutzan and Co. It's been a tough campaign all around for Calgary, especially after the team was initially pegged by many as a potential playoff dark horse with legit Cup aspirations.

The Flames currently sit fifth in the Pacific Division with 80 points, and will miss the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting hot at the best time of the season, as they've won seven of their last nine games with the playoffs approaching. And, with their victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, the Leafs made a bit of history, too.

The tight 4-3 win over the Panthers was good enough for the Leafs' 46th overall victory - and 27th at home - this season, which are both new franchise records.

The record night didn't stop there, as Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen established a new career high in wins with his 36th of the season, which also tied the single-season record for home victories by a Toronto netminder.

Wednesday's win would become that much sweeter for Toronto if the Philadelphia Flyers lose to the Colorado Avalanche in regulation later in the same evening. That result would punch the Leafs' playoff ticket for a second consecutive season.

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Make it 30 for Auston Matthews.

The young Toronto Maple Leafs superstar fired home a wrist shot to give his club a two-goal lead over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night, hitting the 30-goal mark for the second time in as many seasons since entering the league.

With Matthews' marker, the Maple Leafs became the only NHL team with three 30-goal scorers this season - the others being James van Riemsdyk and Nazem Kadri.

He also etched his name into the team's record books:

As if that wasn't enough, Matthews and Kadri became the first pair of centers in franchise history to both score 30 goals in back-to-back seasons, according to Sportsnet.

But wait, there's more. Including Matthews, only a handful of American-born players have ever potted 30 goals in consecutive campaigns to start their careers:

Matthews came into Wednesday's action trailing Van Riemsdyk for the team lead by only five goals despite playing in 19 fewer games due to injuries.

The 20-year-old poured in 40 goals and 69 points in his rookie campaign of 2016-17.

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Players aren't the only ones susceptible to injuries at the rink.

New York Rangers assistant coach Lindy Ruff was diagnosed with a concussion after stepping on a puck and hitting his head in practice Tuesday, head coach Alain Vigneault told reporters Wednesday, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.

Ruff was not with the team in Washington, D.C., for Wednesday's game against the Capitals, and Vigneault said Ruff needed stitches after the fall.

Vigneault added that the former Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars head coach was hospitalized but should be back soon, according to Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press.

Ruff joined the Rangers' coaching staff in July.

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While some NHL veterans have cut down on heavier foods in an attempt to stay in shape in a league that's getting quicker and younger by the day, Florida Panthers soon-to-be 39-year-old goaltender Roberto Luongo has a different approach.

For example, hulking Boston Bruins blue-liner Zdeno Chara has gone full vegan, but Bobby Lu is still doing his nonna and nonno proud: "Carb-based diet. Lots of carbs. Pasta, pizza, that kind of stuff. I’m Italian," Luongo joked when asked about his eating habits, according to TSN.

"There is a lot of stuff obviously, but it's more physical maintenance wise, making sure the body recovers well and you feel fresh when game time roll around."

Luongo has dealt with a number of injuries this season, most recently sitting out the last two games with an upper-body injury. However, when he's been healthy, he's been solid, registering a 15-10-2 record to go along with a .927 save percentage and three shutouts.

"When I'm playing I feel good. I’m always working to improve and better my game. I'm never satisfied with the way I play, I always want to find things that make me better," Luongo added. "You just put in the work. Even though I might have slowed down over the last few years, but I think all in all, technically, I'm probably the best I've ever been."

The Panthers are in the thick of the Eastern Conference wild-card hunt, and will have their No. 1 goalie back commanding the blue paint Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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The Ottawa Senators signed free-agent forward Andrew Sturtz to a two-year entry-level contract, the team announced Wednesday.

The 23-year-old is coming off his third season at Penn State, where he concluded his time as the school's all-time leading goal-scorer with 54 goals in 111 games.

"Andrew is a player whom we identified as someone we were interested in for some time," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a release. "He is a skilled, competitive player who can play both center and the wing. He's not only talented, but the type of character player we are looking for. He'll graduate from Penn State in only three years and we look forward to having him in camp next season."

In his final year at Penn State, Sturtz tallied 14 goals and 26 assists for a career-high 40 points.

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History. It's something Connor McDavid has been making, yet it's the very thing that might be standing between him and his second straight Hart Trophy.

With his fourth three-plus-point performance in the last seven games Tuesday night, McDavid eclipsed the 100-point plateau for the second straight season, becoming the first player in eight years to achieve the feat. In his last 10 games, he's put up an outrageous 21 points.

In any other season, it'd be hard to argue against McDavid winning the Hart Trophy. This is where history comes into play. Not since the 1987-88 season - when Mario Lemieux paced the league with 70 goals and 168 points in 77 games on a Penguins team that finished one point out of a playoff spot - has a player on a non-playoff team won the Hart Trophy. In fact, it's only happened four times in the award's history.

Changing a precedent that has stood for 30 years is no simple task, and with as many as a half-dozen other suitable candidates, it'll be hard for McDavid to push the needle.

But what makes this all the more interesting is that McDavid is having himself a better season - at least statistically - than he did last year, when he won the Hart Trophy. Here's a look at the numbers:

102: The number of points McDavid has put up this season with five more games to go - two more than his season total last year.

40: The number of goals he has tallied, which is 10 more than he had last year, and tied for fourth overall.

7: The number of game-winning goals McDavid's put up - one more than last season.

7: Number of players, now including McDavid, to record multiple 100-point seasons before their 22nd birthday.

15.4: McDavid's shooting percentage this season, up from his 12 percent total last season.

34: Number of even-strength goals he has scored, which is up from 26 last year and leads the league.

104: Number of takeaways McDavid has had this season. It leads the league and is 14 more than Jeff Skinner, who sits second overall.

43: McDavid's blocked shots, which, surprisingly, leads all Oilers forwards.

46.36: Percentage of Oilers goals he has factored in on, which is up from 41.15 percent last year.

6.3: Number of even-strength minutes per game McDavid has played with Leon Draisaitl, which is actually down from 8.2 minutes last season.

1.35: McDavid's points-per-game average (with a minimum 50 games played), which ranks third in the NHL and is up from his league-leading 1.22 from last year.

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