There was no Thanksgiving hangover for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Welcoming back former coach John Tortorella ever-so-rudely with a 5-1 pasting of his New York Rangers, the Bolts gave their fans much to be thankful for Friday night and once again showed signs of what a complete team they very well could be.

It won’t be easy filling the latter two categories this morning but, nonetheless, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly:

The Good
Steady Smitty

Time to call it: The Lightning officially have a pair of number one goaltenders.

While Antero Niittymaki’s numbers speak for themselves (and have all season), incumbent starter Mike Smith had struggled somewhat to find his groove early on. After a 2-1-1 run in his last four starts, capped by last night’s near-shutout performance, all signs point to Smith returning to last year’s early season form.

Head coach Rick Tocchet wouldn’t commit to anything just yet but it at least sounds as though Smith could start again against his former team in Dallas tonight. He didn’t have to be spectacular against the Rangers but his Friday night effort was enough to merit consideration.

“We have the luxury of two ‘A’ goalies right now,” Tocchet said, making for a “tough” decision on a night-to-night basis.

As we’ve said all season long, that sure is a good problem to have.

The Right Way to Play

On multiple occasions, various Lightning players came to the aid of their teammates last night and it all started, as well it should, with captain Vincent Lecavalier.

Surely, it was just coincidental that the snarly Lecavalier returned with his former coach back in the building. Any way you look at it, that’s how he has to play. Lecavalier was hitting all night, impacting the offensive play and looking after his fellow Bolts, highlighted by a first period skirmish with Ranger superpest Sean Avery.

Rangers forward Brian Boyle took a pair of beat-downs in this one, first to Lightning defenseman Matt Walker and later at the hands of Zenon Konopka, who drew the instigator penalty in the altercation but continued to solidify his position as a real “glue guy” on this team.

The cohesion of this group shined throughout the game and play like that is exactly what Tocchet wants from his club.

“You always want your team to stick up for each other. We’re doing a good job being disciplined but there’s times to step up and we had some guys that did that tonight,” Tocchet said. “It goes a long way for a long year.”

An Army of One

(A tip of my cap to the United States Army for the use of their cheeseball slogan.)

For a team that’s benefited so much from the singular efforts of the likes of Ryan Malone and Steven Stamkos so far this season, getting contributions, offensively and otherwise, from throughout the lineup, as the Lightning did last night, is a great sign for future success.

Another two-point effort from Stamkos, a trio of assists from Martin St. Louis, a goal from both the defenseman version of Kurtis Foster and his forward alter ego, as well as tallies from hard workers Steve Downie and Paul Szczechura made up Tampa Bay’s five-goal effort on Friday and epitomized the type of collective effort that this team will need down the stretch.

Foster had his best game in a Lightning uniform and, while his versatility will help to keep him in the lineup – “If I have to be a forward or if I have to be at ‘D’ it doesn’t matter. I just want to be out there.” – don’t expect him to complete the positional trifecta by strapping on the pads in net any time soon.

“I don’t know about that,” he said with a laugh.

The Bad
Thanks, Torts … Torts? Hello?

A few of us were wondering whether or not the Lightning would offer any sort of tribute to Tortorella in his return to the Forum and, after an early video hello to former Bolt Vinny Prospal, it was only a matter of time.

Sure enough, later in the period, a montage of highlights from Tortorella’s tenure as Lightning bench boss was shown and the crowd roared in approval, showing one more gesture of respect to the man that led the Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship.

It was a nice video package, a nice gesture by the organization and a nice moment overall.

Too bad Tortorella missed almost all of it, barking at his current team through the beginning of the presentation and then blankly staring out at the ice as the standing ovation continued through a “Welcome back!” announcement from Lightning public address announcer Paul Porter.

Inside, you know Tortorella had to appreciate the move. But would it have hurt that badly to acknowledge the crowd even just a little? A little wave? A nod of the head? Maybe a wink?

Oh well. Lightning fans that remember Torts well enough probably didn’t expect as much anyway.

The Ugly
The Other Vinny

Prospal’s “Welcome Home” moment was a little less emotional.

The quaint, simple video shown for the three-time Bolt and the accompanying announcement was met with a modest round of applause and, overall, a “Mehhh …” reception.

Didn’t bother me at all. In my eyes, Prospal has always been very much a “Mehhh …” (and perhaps a “Me”) player, despite his early season success on Broadway.

What Are You Looking At?

I’m hardly ever one to criticize officials but when Szczechura was just whacked by the upward swing of P-A Parenteau’s stick, drawing blood and necessitating the old tampon-up-the-nose trick, he was making a play for the puck.

If the officials aren’t looking in that direction – one of four of them that can make a call in this type of situation – I don’t know what they’re doing, honestly.

No worries, of course, as Szczechura’s revenge came in the form of the goal that chased Henrik Lundqvist from the New York net later on.

***

It’s always a good thing when I fill the Bad and Ugly sections almost completely with references to the other team.

There’s a big challenge at hand after a quick exit from Tampa last night and a late night flight to Dallas for tonight’s meeting with the Stars.

A similar effort to that put forth against the Rangers and the Lightning can anticipate coming home from ‘Big D’ with another big ‘W’.

JJ
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