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TAMPA - To all the world, this was an important first step. A new beginning for a team still emerging.
To the man with a dwindling cigar and a growing grin, this was something completely different. It was a continuation.
That is how a playoff celebration looks through the eyes of a general manager who has come to believe instead of hope.
Jay Feaster saw the Lightning struggle in the first two games against the Islanders, and he could picture the back-to-back losses to Washington last postseason. He saw young players fighting for shots and was able to remember a stifling New Jersey defense in the 2003 conference semifinals.
Feaster saw the Lightning kick New York to the curb Friday night, and then he recalled the profound hurt in the eyes of a beaten team last year.
"The expectations are different today," Feaster said. "Not just from the standpoint of where we finished in the regular season or what the fans and the community believe. It's the guys in that locker room. The expectations of those players is completely different, and that's a big change.
"The guys who were around here last year still believe they have unfinished business. That's what we accomplished in terms of last year."
The night, of course, was special. It was the first playoff series the Lightning has ever clinched at home. It was another chance for Martin St. Louis to stuff added lore in his locker. It was a sellout crowd chanting Nikolai Khabibulin's name from the rafters.
It was mostly giggles and grins, but it was not a culmination. The series is completed, but the Lightning may just be starting.
"The expectations are different now. We're supposed to win," defenseman Dan Boyle said. "Every team feels that way when they get to this point of the season, but maybe we feel it a little more than last year.
"You obviously learn from your mistakes, and I think we learned a lot last year. New Jersey frustrated us last year. I think that's what we did to New York. This time, we frustrated them."
A year ago, the Lightning was everyone's kid brother. Cute and talented. Maybe even a little brash. But too young to be taken seriously.
Ah, but you say, Tampa Bay was actually the favorite in that opening series against Washington. True, but that was merely a technicality.
The Lightning had won fewer games, scored fewer goals and had far less postseason experience than the Capitals. A single point in the standings was the entire difference between the Nos. 3 and 6 seeds for Tampa Bay.
"Being the No. 1 team in the East gives us a different approach from last year," Fredrik Modin said. "Last year, we were looked at like an underdog. This year, people are expecting us to do what we're doing."
In a way, the past week could not have gone better for the Lightning. It was not just the outcome, but the process. The Lightning seemed to grow exponentially as the series evolved. The scorers became aggressive. The defenders got tougher. And Khabibulin rediscovered his reputation.
Friday night may have been the best example yet. This was neither a dominant shutout, nor a fortunate escape. It was somewhere between.
The Lightning came from behind. Then it blew a late lead. And, all the while, it played like a team without fear or doubt.
It had the potential to be the worst 24 hours the team has known.
The Lightning started Friday evening one victory from clinching a series. And, had it not survived overtime, the Lightning might have gone to bed tonight one loss from elimination.
"Honest to God, I think this is the most unbelievable group of guys in the world," Feaster said. "The best part is they have so much confidence in each other. They're a team in the best sense of the word."
In 124 seconds Friday night, the Lightning turned a game around. And it was not St. Louis or Vinny Lecavalier or Brad Richards. It was Tim Taylor scoring his first postseason goal after 11 NHL seasons. Then it was Ruslan Fedotenko knocking a rebound into the net.
And that is the beauty of this team. Not the brilliance of one player, but the collective efforts of an entire roster.
The Lightning may have the league's MVP on one line. And it might have a future Hall of Famer on another. But the team always has looked better in group portraits than in individual snapshots.
And Friday night, it looked better than ever.
"The best part is they are so business-like," Feaster said. "They came in here wanting to put this thing away. We're tired, we're banged up, let's end this and get some rest.
"There's still more to do."
That's the only way to look at it.