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." Ryan Kesler Jersey . Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous round. Rickard Rakell Jersey .com) - The Buffalo Bills will return to the friendly confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday when they welcome the upstart Cleveland Browns to town. http://www.authenticduckspro.com/John-gibson-ducks-jersey/ . The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. 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Then again, with the Wolves riding a losing streak that has lasted for a full month now, thats not saying a whole lot.Daye scored a season-high 22 points and had 10 rebounds to help the Spurs hand the Timberwolves their 15th straight loss, 108-93 on Saturday night.Pop believes in all his players and you know hell throw you into weird situations at any time, said Daye, who has scored 35 of his 96 total points this season in two games against Minnesota. So you just got to be ready.Patty Mills scored 19 points and Tim Duncan added 13 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes for the Spurs (23-15), who were missing Manu Ginobili and Marco Belinelli with injuries.Gorgui Dieng had 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for the Timberwolves (5-31), who were missing Shabazz Muhammad with an abdominal injury in addition to the long-term absences of Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin. Minnesota hasnt won since Dec. 10 and is tied with New York for the longest active losing streak in the NBA.Andrew Wiggins finished with 18 points for the Wolves. That snapped a streak of six 20-point games for the No. 1 overall pick.Its time we all need to realize that we need to take this very personal, Dieng said. We just need to play harder to win games.Ginobili was out with back spasms and Belinelli had a groin injury. But playing a man or two down has never bothered them and they certainly werent going to worry about it against a young, defensively inept Timberwolves team.And the Spurs dont have time to take it easy on anyone. They entered the night seventh in the Western Conference and just havent really been able to get going yet after winning the franchises ffifth championship in June.ddddddddddddTheyve mostly traded wins and losses for the last month and havent won more than two in a row since an eight-game winning streak ended on Dec. 3.Thats not going to cut it out West, but the Spurs have been together long enough to know when they need to put their feet on the gas. They are awaiting the return of Kawhi Leonard, who hasnt played since Dec. 17 because of an injured right hand and Tony Parker is still getting up to speed while being bothered by a gimpy hamstring.Were disappointed were in the position we are, said Popovich, whose Spurs are in seventh in the West thanks to an 8-10 December. We lost some games we could have won. And we were just injured at the wrong time. December was a heck of a month for us schedule-wise, and being injured at that time was tough. So now we have to suck it up and try to catch up with some guys.They had more than enough against the undermanned Wolves, who are three losses away from tying the franchise record for longest losing skid.The Spurs closed the first quarter on a 15-4 run and never looked back, carving up Minnesotas woeful defence with cuts to the basket and curls around screens to generate wide open jumpers.Daye hit 4 of 8 3-pointers and Cory Joseph added 12 points and five assists off the bench.TIP-INSSpurs: The Spurs used their 21st starting lineup of the season. Thats the most in the NBA. ... It was the fifth time this season the Spurs held a team under 40 per cent shooting.Timberwolves: One night after missing the loss in Milwaukee with a sprained right ankle, PG Mo Williams had 10 points on 2-for-10 shooting. ... The Wolves set a franchise record by going 26 for 26 on free throws.POP BEING POPPopovich was at his sarcastic best on Saturday night.Q: Would you like to see Daye play like that more often?A: No I hope he plays like crap.Q: How much energy did he give?A: I think 44.5-foot pounds of; exactly, I dont have the same formula.UP NEXTSpurs: Visit Washington on Tuesday night.Timberwolves: Visit Indiana on Tuesday night. ' ' '