TAMPA, Fla. -- Go West, young lad. Or in the Tampa Bay Lightning's case, face it as often as possible.
The recipe for the Bolts' success in their 10-4 start is diverse, a trait that makes the trend strong: Consistent scoring (predictable), stable goal-tending (not as foreseen) and elite play from stars Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis (did you expect anything else?).
But there's another ingredient sprinkled into this brew that's important to mention, one that hints at Tampa Bay’s long-term stability: The Lightning are 5-0 against the Western Conference, a perfect mark preserved with an impressive 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at Tampa Bay Times Forum.
Let's visit the rundown:
* Oct. 5: A 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in a shootout.
* Oct. 15: A 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
* Oct. 17: A 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild.
* Oct. 24: A 6-5 victory over the Blackhawks in overtime.
* Saturday: The victory over the Blues, one in which the Bolts scored two consecutive third-period goals to leave pleased, despite being outshot 30-25.
"Any time you face a challenge, you want to conquer it," Stamkos said Saturday. "Like I've said before, any time we play teams that are known to be very good in this league, we come up with a great effort. We've got to be able to do that consistently."
So far, so good on the consistency front. For the most part, these Western Conference foes were no slouches. Going into Tuesday, the Blackhawks stood second in the Central Division with 22 points, the Kings were fifth in the Pacific with 18, the Wild third in the Central with 19 and the Blues in fourth in the Central with 18.
There are small markers within a season that mold a group's character. No matter the sport or league, era or personalities involved, a team lives winning streaks, losing skids, odd trends and unforeseen challenges in a journey toward a goal. The reaction shapes how reputations are formed, how results are reached.
Through this season's early stages, the Bolts have spoken about "measuring stick" games, and Saturday was another stage for self-inspection. Goalie Ben Bishop captured Tampa Bay’s emerging identity this way, and he has a point: "I think we've definitely played to the level of the other teams, sometime in a bad way, sometimes in a good way."
That message suggests the Bolts are still evolving in their first full season under coach Jon Cooper, knowledge that should be little surprise. The theme will remain with this group all winter, a fuller picture coming into focus with each week and month, as tests are placed in their rear-view mirror. Nothing is complete now.
But this fact can be drawn from Tampa Bay's early perfection against the Western Conference: This is a collection of men responding to a new culture, a new fingerprint behind the bench. "Progress" is a proper buzzword.
"Most definitely, I think 'progress' is probably the correct word, because we've faced these upper-echelon teams, and we've somehow garnered some points from them," Cooper said Saturday.
"I thought we earned a victory against an extremely good opponent (Saturday). They pushed us, and we pushed back, and we ended up getting a couple extra breaks. That's progress."
The trick comes in turning progress to an identity and consistent play. The Bolts have the right personalities in St. Louis (the sage veteran) and Stamkos (the young, tireless star) to make the transformation happen, and Bishop has emerged as a pleasant surprise between the pipes. Tampa Bay should have faith in its core leadership.
Still, progress enjoyed in October and November could fade, leaving struggle in January, February and March. This franchise understands the feeling all too well.
Remember the 6-1 start last season? Remember the buzz before the Bolts lost 14 of their next 18?
"Just whenever you play against the best teams in the league, you want to win," Bishop said. "When you play teams you think you should beat, you beat them. I think that's our mentality right now."
It's the right one to have, and the results have shown the Lightning are on to something. They seem more capable that last season's group of sustaining this run. The five victories over the Western Conference are telling, but so is this fact: Tampa Bay has yet to lose consecutive games this season.
The first victory over the Blackhawks followed a loss to the Boston Bruins, the victory over the Kings followed a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the second victory over the Blackhawks followed the second loss to the Bruins and a 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricane followed a loss to the New Jersey Devils. Those bounce-backs show resilience is part of their early persona.
"We've got a great bunch of guys in the room," Cooper said. "Are we the perfect hockey team? Not even close. But are we a team that doesn’t quit and responds to challenges? They do, and they’ve got it in them."
It shows against the West and beyond.
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
