The Columbus Blue Jackets saw the best season of their career come to an end on Monday when the team was defeated 4-3 in game six of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Here is a look at the highs and lows of the team's season.

Highs

The 2012-13 season was undoubtedly the best in Columbus' short time in the NHL. The team put up 93 points (they got 92 points back in 2008-09) and managed to pull off their first two playoff victories in franchise history. In fact, the team played so well in the series against the Penguins that many thought the team could actually pull off a shocking series victory.

After a mediocre first three months of the 2013-14 season, Columbus won eight straight and nine of 10 in January to make a run at a playoff position. The team then went on to win nine of 15 in March in order to secure a playoff spot.

Columbus did not possess a bonafide superstar heading into the season, but Ryan Johansen proved that he is a budding star in this league with 33 goals and 63 points. Rookie Ryan Murray put up 21 points in his debut season despite only managing one point in the playoffs.

Another major plus for this team was its ability to shutdown Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin throughout the playoffs. The latter scored three goals in the decisive game, but Crosby did not score a single goal in the first round. It is also essential to note that this team showed no fear in this series and nearly pulled off a tremendous comeback in Game 6; the team did come back from a 3-0 deficit in Game 4 and won that match in overtime.

Lows

The Blue Jackets lost all five regular season games against the Penguins in the regular season. The team endured a four-game losing streak in mid-October before losing five straight between the end of October and the first two weeks of November; the team also lost 11 of 16 games in November.

Nathan Horton only managed to play in 36 games for the Jackets and scored just five goals and 19 points; he is signed for another six years with the team for approximately $5.3 cap hit per year. This is not the kind of production the team as expecting from the premier scorer.

Season MVP

In 2012-13, Sergei Bobrovsky nearly led the Blue Jackets to the playoffs. In 2013-14, he did not fall short and guaranteed his team a playoff berth. The Russian keeper put up a .923 save percentage, the eighth best in the entire league. He did falter a bit in the playoffs, but he had a few stellar performances throughout the postseason that did little to deter an otherwise wonderful season.

Elimination Scapegoat

The team scored 18 goals in six playoffs games against the Penguins, but conceded 21 in that span. Bobrovsky's save percentage may look pedestrian (.903), but the reality is that the team allowed a rather mediocre Penguins team get the best of possession. Aside from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins are not elite in puck possession. Despite that, the team managed to put up a plethora of scoring chances throughout the series and got 30 or more shots on four of the six games; in Game 5, the team managed well over 50 shots on goal. Columbus was not going to overcome this team if it was allowing the Penguins to dictate the play in the offensive zone. Bobrovsky struggled throughout the series, but it is hard to pin this one on him when he is facing a furious number of shots per game.