Blake Bortles got a stark reminder Tuesday of how Jacksonville's season ended three months ago.

Bortles was in the quarterbacks meeting room when offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett flashed a picture of the Gillette Stadium scoreboard from Jan. 21 Youth Preston Brown Jersey , 2018.

Jaguars 20, Patriots 17, with a little more than 5 minutes to play in the AFC championship game.

"It's kind of like, 'Man, that sucks. I can't believe we blew that,'" Bortles said. "That will probably always be in the back of our minds as we missed that opportunity to go play for a Super Bowl. But I think it just gives us that much more motivation to get there again and go win it."

The Jaguars began their offseason program this week still thinking about how close they came to upsetting New England and getting to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

Jacksonville led 20-10 early in the fourth quarter before fading down the stretch.

Coach Doug Marrone cautioned his team about focusing on the past or anything that might happen in the future. But players made it clear the 24-20 loss in New England still stings and will serve as a driving force over the next nine months.

"The bar has been raised; the expectations are different," Bortles said. "To be able to go through the season we went through last year, the camp that we went through and kind of see everything that happened, I think guys are coming back this year with a totally different attitude and kind of a hunger to reach that final game and go win it."

Jacksonville has reason to be optimistic.

The Jaguars return 12 of the top 14 players on a defense that ranked second in the NFL, added one of the league's most coveted free agents in guard Andrew Norwell and kept their entire coaching staff intact.

"You have to start back at ground zero and then build," veteran defensive end Calais Campbell said. "The reset button is something you have to hit regardless if you were terrible or if you were good. It doesn't matter. Just got to start over from the beginning and earn the right to make it to be a successful team."

Even with so much carry-over from 2017, Marrone plans to take a similar approach during the offseason. He wants his players to get in the best shape possible now, which should help them get through a grueling training camp later.

"I'm always one of those guys Authentic Henrik Lundqvist Jersey , 'Hey, let's be where our butt is,'" Marrone said. "In other words, let's be in this moment right now. I think that when you're grabbing toward this future and you looking beyond you're going to miss all the small things that you need to build a foundation.

"Last year, we kind of wrapped it in a box and put it there. There are lessons that we've learned from it. We appreciate that. We appreciate the season. We appreciate what's gone on, but now we're sitting here at 0-0."

Jacksonville (10-6) won the AFC South for the first time in franchise history last season, but top executive Tom Coughlin and general manager Dave Caldwell didn't treat the roster like it was even close to being set.

They let receiver Allen Robinson, cornerback Aaron Colvin, guard Patrick Omameh and backup quarterback Chad Henne walk in free agency. They cut tight end Marcedes Lewis, receiver Allen Hurns and running back Chris Ivory. And they brought in five free agents, including new starters Norwell, receiver Donte Moncrief and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins.

Now, the Jags are essentially starting over 鈥?even with that loss to the Patriots still lingering.

"There's one team out there that's defending champs. That's the Philadelphia Eagles Authentic Jonathan Toews Jersey ," Marrone said. "Before we even get to division, playoffs, whatever it may be, first game of the year, whatever it may be, we've got to take all these steps, OK, before we get there. If we put our sights on those right now we're going to miss something here in the beginning building this foundation."

The highest-scoring team in the NHL is playing a stingy brand of defense in the playoffs.

Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning know ultimately that will be the key to the chances for a deep run for the third time in four years.

The top seed in the Eastern Conference won its opening round series 4-1 over the New Jersey Devils, with Vasilevskiy stopping 53 of 55 shots over the last two games.

”We did a good job. They’re a good team, but we were better a little bit,” the 23-year-old goaltender said after Saturday’s 3-1 clinching victory.

”The guys played well,” Vasilevskiy said. ”When your team is playing well, I’m feeling much better Myles Garrett Jersey Youth , more confidence. … ”Now it’s in the past and we have to move on and think about the second round.”

Nikita Kucherov scored goals in four of the five games, including three game-winners.

With five goals and five assists, he set a franchise record for points in a playoff series and also tied Vincent Lecavalier for second place on the Tampa Bay’s postseason scoring list with 52 points in 50 games.

But as well as the league’s third-leading scorer and the rest of the offense performed over the course of the series, the defense was just as good after struggling at times over the last two months of the season.

The Devils scored seven goals in the four games they lost. Before yielding one goal in each of the final two games, Vasilevskiy had never allowed one or fewer goals in a playoff start.

”He’s been unbelievable. He’s so young, but it seems like he’s been in the league for 20 years,” Kucherov said. ”When he makes the saves, it gives energy to our group and the bench, everyone is fired up.”

In his first season as a No. 1 goalie, the finalist for the Vezina Trophy tied for first in the NHL in victories (44) and shutouts (eight) and finished with a 2.62 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.

Those numbers might have been even better if the Lightning had played better defense in front of him over the last half of the season.

”He was on it from Game 1,” coach Jon Cooper said of the young goaltender’s performance against the Devils.

”He just came up huge in every big situation. … The timely saves were phenomenal for us,” Cooper added. ”He just played with confidence.”

And, that gives the Lightning reason to feel good heading into the Eastern Conference semifinals against the winner of the first-round matchup between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

”We don’t care who’s going to be there. There’s no easy teams in the playoffs Authentic Walter Payton Jersey ,” Kucherov said. ”We have to make sure we play the same way and we play our way.”

Cooper appreciates being able to close out the Devils early, avoiding a return trip to Newark, New Jersey, for Game 6.

”Ultimately, you just don’t want to get on the plane, again. It’s not that there’s still series left, but it’s the wear and tear on the body and mind,” Cooper said. ”I’m not one of those, let the series go seven and just keep playing. We’ll take the rest, take a step back and prepare.”

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