COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Cam Atkinson believes the Columbus Blue Jackets are getting better. But hes also realizes just how far they have to go. "We got a little taste of what we wanted in making the playoffs," the 24-year-old winger said the day after the Blue Jackets were eliminated in Game 6 of their wild first-round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. "We just won two games. Its a stepping stone." For years an NHL doormat, the Blue Jackets are both inspired and also realistic after the best season in the franchises mostly rocky 13 seasons. "I heard on the radio the other day that Game 4 is one of the great sports moments in this city," forward Mark Letestu said, referring to a three-goal comeback at home that was capped by a last-minute tying goal in regulation and Nick Folignos overtime winner. "I think theres a lot more that we can give. We can give series victories and further cement the Blue Jackets in the hearts of people here. Thats whats on guys minds right now." It was a season of firsts for the Blue Jackets, who have spent much of their existence toward the bottom of the NHL standings. They set club records with 43 regular-season wins, 21 road victories, 93 points and 231 goals. They had made the playoffs just once previously and their stay lasted only four games, all losses. But one of the leagues youngest teams overcame a 5-10-0 start with a strong finish to clinch a playoff spot. Then, they won Games 2 and 4 against the Penguins with stirring comebacks. In Monday nights Game 6, they were outclassed early and trailed 4-0 heading into the final period before scoring three goals in a 4:52 span to energize a crowd of 19,189 that stood and roared throughout the final minutes. The 4-3 defeat left them disappointed, but most will likely only remember the Jackets scrambling at the finish for a possible tying goal while the Penguins struggled to hold them off. "The building was rocking," defenceman Jack Johnson said. "But theres going to be a lot more and better times ahead." Beyond everything else they accomplished, they gave their patient followers some hope. Over their past 111 games, the Blue Jackets are 62-37-12 -- far and away the best such span in the franchises history, and exceeded by only seven other teams in the league. "Its been great to see where we came from halfway through last season to where we are now and how excited the city gets," said fourth-line centre Derek MacKenzie, an unrestricted free agent this summer. "Weve already talked about that. What would it be like if we could have a great start? Is that arena going to be like that all season long? We sure hope so." The Blue Jackets poor history has become, well, old news. "Everybody hears about the past," said rookie defenceman Ryan Murray, taken No. 2 in the 2012 draft. "It hasnt been very good. Everybody thats here now just wants to change that, to change the culture and bring in more fans and change the city into a hockey town." Judging from the capacity crowds down the stretch and in the playoffs, and the excitement generated around this city of 787,000. For the past few weeks, the Blue Jackets have been the talk of the town, pulling off a rare coup by bumping Ohio State football off the front page of the local newspaper. Now that the Blue Jackets have stamped themselves as a good team, the hard part is getting better. "I dont think were going to catch anybody by surprise anymore," defenceman James Wisniewski said. "Everybody realizes the identity that weve created here, that its going to be a hard-fought game and that theyre going to have to bring their A game or were going to run them out of the building." Many of the Blue Jackets had already shaved off their playoff beards before meetings with the coaching staff on Tuesday morning. Several of the younger players were barely able to grow one. So now a team that didnt know what it was missing when it didnt make the playoffs is disappointed that it has been eliminated. "Ill be watching (the playoffs) for sure," Atkinson said. "What else is there to do now? You wish you could be playing." Cheap Adidas Panthers Jerseys .Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday. Cheap Panthers Jerseys . -- Sonny Grays fastball wasnt as sharp as it usually is, and the Oakland Athletics young pitcher even had a quirky replay go against him. http://www.cheapfloridapanthersjerseys.com/. PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Panthers Jerseys China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . The 17-time Grand Slam champion, who lose three straight finals in Monte Carlo to Rafael Nadal from 2006-08, has not played in the tournament since 2011, when he lost to Jurgen Melzer in the quarterfinals.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Arizona Coyotes hope to build off their first victory in weeks when they visit the Ottawa Senators for Saturdays matinee clash at Canadian Tire Centre. The Coyotes entered Thursdays game in Toronto mired in an 0-5-2 slump, but they notched a 3-1 comeback victory for their first win since a 4-1 home triumph against Winnipeg on Jan. 8. Arizona trailed the Maple Leafs 1-0 after two periods, but Oliver Ekman- Larsson scored a short-handed goal just five seconds into the third period to kindle a rally. Ekman-Larssons goal, which tied a franchise record for quickest to open a period, came from beyond center ice after Lauri Korpikoski won the faceoff. Martin Hanzal netted the go-ahead goal 3:42 later and Sam Gagner scored on a power play later in the period as Arizona ended its seven-game slide while sending Toronto to its eighth straight loss. After the second period we thought we deserved a better fate in the game, said Coyotes Dave Tippett. We had created a lot of chances. Mike Smith had 24 saves in the win, which also stopped a five-game road losing streak for the Coyotes, who are in the midst of an eight-game trek. It was their first win away from home since Dec. 23 in Edmonton. The Coyotes, who are just 8-13-3 away from home, will visit Montreal tomorrow before completing the swing Tuesday in Columbus. Ottawa has lost three of its last four games and is coming off Thursdays 6-3 setback against former Senators captain Jason Spezza and his Dallas Stars. Thursdays game was closer than thee final score made it seem, as Ottawa rallied from down 3-0 to even the contest by the early stages of the third period.dddddddddddd John Klingberg snapped the tie for Dallas in the latter stages of the third period before Trevor Daley and Jamie Benn added empty-net markers to arrive at the final margin. Mika Zibanejad, Bobby Ryan and Alex Chiasson scored once each for the Senators, who have lost seven of their last 10. Robin Lehner allowed four goals on 39 shots in the setback. We werent competitive enough, we werent detailed enough, Ottawa coach Dave Cameron said. Although his team picked up a victory, Spezza failed to reach the scoresheet as he returned to Ottawa for the first time since requesting a trade from the Senators last summer. Spezza, who registered four shots on goal in 16:17 of ice time, was booed the first time he touched the puck, but the Canadian Tire Centre crowd cheered a tribute shown on the video board shortly after. With Craig Anderson on injured reserve with a bruised hand, Lehner will start again today. Lehner is 2-4-1 with a 3.28 goals against average in seven career outings against Arizona. The Sens are closing a three-game homestand this afternoon and are 10-7-4 as the host this season. Arizona and the Senators each have three wins in the last six meetings in this series, but Ottawa has claimed 11 of the past 15 encounters. The Coyotes had lost six straight -- all in regulation -- on the road in this matchup before posting an overtime win in Ottawa on Dec. 21, 2013. 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