Vinny, Smith must step up before Bolts can make that giant leap

Well, it's about time.

It's about time Vinny Lecavalier started being a goal scorer.

It's about time Mike Smith started being a goaltender.

The Lightning, if they are to amount to anything this season, need Lecavalier and Smith.

That's why Monday's victory at Phoenix - yes, Phoenix - was so encouraging.

Lecavalier showed up with two goals, doubling his season output in one night.

Smith allowed only one goal and stopped a slew of shots, something that had hardly happened this season. Monday was his first start since Nov. 2, when he was pulled after being shelled by the Flyers.

You can talk about all the things that need to happen for the Lightning to be truly competitive again.

This team doesn't do a thing if Lecavalier ends up with 15 or 20 goals, which, by the way, is his current pace. This is the slowest goal-scoring start of his career.

This team doesn't do a thing if Smith winds up with an .880 or so save percentage, which is about his pace right now.

The Bolts need these guys to stay frosty.

Vinny's lucky he got going.

The New York Rangers come in the day after Thanksgiving, and with them comes Coach John Tortorella.

Rumor has it Johnny Torts was going to make a special return appearance behind the Lightning bench to scream at Vinny.

"Oh, no," Vinny said last week with a laugh.

Vinny's a very good guy.

But the good guy needs to be a 40-goal man, especially since he should be able to score 30 just by rolling out of bed.

At least Vinny has proven he can do it. Smith, on the other hand, has yet to show that he can be a No. 1 goalie across an entire season.

Then there's last season's concussion. And we were worried about Smith's head even before that - his focus, his tendency to stray far and wide from his net, or far and wide from the game.

I'm not saying he has to be a 55-game goaltender. Antero Nittymaki has been hotter than hot early in the season, so I could see him playing 30 to 35 games. But he tends to be streaky.

Sooner or later, Smith is going to need to step up and stay up.

Remember, the Lightning traded Brad Richards to get him. Richards, as you might recall, was a cornerstone of this franchise - oh, and a Conn Smythe winner.

"He wants to be a top-of-the-league goalie, and to be a top-of-the-league goalie, you have to have ice water in your veins," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said of Smith. "He's learning every day."

We wonder how driven Smith is to be the best.

We'll find out this season.

Vinny? He's making $10 million this season. He is a local icon, having put his money (millions) where his heart is, in his charity work for children. But 10 years into this league, he still needs to be pushed.

Tocchet tried to get Vinny started by putting Marty St. Louis on his line.

Hey, at this point in his career, shouldn't Vinny be the one put on lines to make guys around him better?

Oh, enough.

Vinny might be coming around.

Maybe Smith is, too.

"We'll need them both," Lightning center Steven Stamkos said. "We all know they'll both be there."

If this season is going to be any kind of real step forward for the Bolts, Vinny Lecavalier and Mike Smith will need to be there.

Maybe they're starting to show up.

And just in time for Vinny.

It's only nine days until Torts!