And one of the major reasons was that the youngest Blue Jackets players performed like veterans. Such names as Pierre-Luc Dubois, Zach Werenski, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Alex Wennberg, Markus Nutivaara, Seth Jones and Josh Anderson were key parts of the roster while spending the season at 24 years of age or younger.
That's one reason why general manager Jarmo Kekalainen doesn't seem tremendously worried about what will happen in this upcoming offseason despite the fact a number of key cogs to the team are set to enter free agency.
"We have a very strong core in place that are all going to be here for a long time," Kekalainen said. "There are a lot of exciting things going on."
Up front, two players who had to excite the Blue Jackets and their fans with their play down the stretch were Anderson and Bjorkstrand. Head coach John Tortorella called Anderson the team's best forward late in the season as he had a two-month stretch where he had an 11-11-22 line in a 26-game span. Bjorkstrand was simply on fire down the stretch with nine goals in the last 10 games, including a six-game streak with a goal in each game.
A unique power forward with speed, size and skill, Anderson finished with a career highs of 27 goals and 47 points at age 24, prompting Kekalainen to say, "What a beast," at his season-ending press conference.
"I've been in this league now for three years," Anderson said. "Definitely got a bit of confidence and I know what type of player I am and what I can be. I still think I have more to give and so It's going to come in the summer, work hard, get back at it and have a great year next year."
Bjorkstrand, meanwhile, looked like a totally different player down the stretch after notching just three goals in the first 30 games and even being a healthy scratch at times. By the end of the season, he had 23 goals and was earning first-line minutes at times.
As he's blessed with one of the quickest releases and most dangerous shots in the NHL, it's not hard to project Bjorkstrand, now 24, as a potential consistent 30-goal scorer.