(My Sportsbook) - For the Tampa Bay Lightning to have any chance against the New Jersey Devils, they knew they'd have to be patient. But there is a difference between patience and coming out like you just woke up from an afternoon nap.

The Bolts, on the heels of their six-game comeback victory against Washington in the first round, were a number of things when the puck dropped on Thursday night at Continental Airlines Arena. Flat and passive are good descriptions to start with, and the end result was a 3-0 loss to Martin Brodeur and Co.

Brodeur, the favorite to win his first Vezina Trophy, needed to make only 15 saves on the night for his third shutout of the postseason. While his teammates played their traditional clamp-down defensive style to a tee, Tampa Bay made things a whole lot easier with an unaggressive start to the series.

"I felt the bottom line [Thursday] was we showed them too much respect," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "I thought there were times we could have gotten going by grabbing hold of the puck, but we didn't work hard enough."

The Lightning's flagship line of Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Vaclav Prospal was the most prominent reason for the turnaround against Washington, but the trio was all but a non-factor on Thursday. Pestered all night by the Devils' John Madden and Scott Stevens, they totaled a mere four shots and were each a minus-2.

"We just have to bring more energy and physical play," said St. Louis, who scored three consecutive game-winners against the Capitals. "We can play a lot harder than that. I don't know if we were tired or what, but we didn't play with the energy that we have or the intensity."

The Lightning, while it may not have made a difference in the end, could have also used a better showing from All-Star goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. After keeping the game scoreless, the Bulin Wall allowed three very suspect goals, including a pair 3:47 apart midway through the third period. Jamie Langenbrunner's knuckler of a shot fluttered its way in to open the scoring 7:41 into the final frame.

The way both the Devil defenders and Brodeur have played in the playoffs to this point, even if the Lightning turn aggressive and put up more of a fight in Game 2, Khabibulin must be sharper. He struggled in Games 1 and 2 against Washington before outplaying counterpart Olaf Kolzig the rest of the series. It might be impossible to outplay Brodeur, but he had better come close to matching him.

As for the New Jersey attack, Langenbrunner and Madden carried their momentum from Round 1 into this series with goals in the opener, and Turner Stevenson tallied as well. Langenbrunner has been the offensive catalyst the club lacked in the regular season, potting six playoff goals in as many games.

The Devils have some history on their side now, as they are 10-4 all-time when winning the first match of a series.