"The Blue Jackets expected to make the Stanley Cup playoffs again this season, but a horrendous stretch through late November and December led to the firing of a coach and a new set of goals.

Last night, after 41 games and more than four months on the loser's side of a .500 record, the Blue Jackets resurfaced with a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning before 15,760 in Nationwide Arena.

"It's not the goal we all started out with, that's for sure," Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason said, "but when you consider where we've come from in a relatively short amount of time, it's something everybody in this room should be proud about.

"We have a ways to go. But we wanted to build something out of this season, and this is a good sign. It feels like we're building something."

Put another way: "After a fairly miserable season," defenseman Mike Commodore said, "a .500 record is fairly respectable."

Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash scored two goals, giving him at least one goal in his career against every club in the NHL.

Fedor Tyutin also scored for the Blue Jackets, while Kristian Huselius added two assists and R.J. Umberger paid a hellacious price to set up power-play game-winner at 7:37 of the third period.

Mason made 16 saves, but was completely screened on the first and snake-bitten on the second, which caromed off Blue Jackets defenseman Fedor Tyutin and Marc Methot before hitting the post and going into the net."