The setup for the Tampa Bay Lightning was perfect — just perfect - Friday night.

The Bolts had a winning streak on and had seemed to be playing better.

Moreover, they were playing the New Jersey Devils at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa in the holiday atmosphere of Gasparilla before at least 21,404, a juiced up festive crowd that included perhaps a couple hundred who favored the Devils. Great setting. Great time to break the embarrassing statistic that says Tampa loses more at home than it wins.

“Odd,” someone said, “but think if the Lightning does indeed make the playoffs, as most of us think they will, “they could have a better record on the road than at home.”

“That is unacceptable,” said defensive Bolt Dan Boyle.

And embarrassing.

So, the Lightning does the impossible before Jose Gaspar and a sellout crowd waiting to explode.

They lost again at home.

What was it?

200 to nothing?

Might has well have been. The Lightning was predictably lousy — at home. They stunk.  Got shut out.  Gaspar left sober. The crowd, seeing nothing to interest them on the ice, went to the counters for grog and food. I checked. The totals on food consumption were high. There certainly wasn’t much, make that nothing, to toast, unless you were from Hackensack.

I knew the Lightning line would be well, but don’t forget, New Jersey in Martin Brodeur is probably the best in goal in the National Hockey League.

Still, the Lightning beat him the last time they played,

The Lightning, when its stars want to play and do play, can beat anybody and twice on Sunday. Oh, I know, their two scoring leaders, both wonderful players and men, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis played in the NHL All-Star game two nights before in Texas. Don’t think is right either. It is a Hobson’s Choice. Stars want, deserve, to be honored. Their team needs them badly, especially if they are playing a tender like Brodeur.

No, neither St. Louis, nor Lecavalier, figured in the scoring. I say again, the Lightning played a lousy game. Lousy and at an important time in the season. This was where they have picked it up before.

Oh, sure, Lightning Coach John Tortorella spoke of the heroics of rival tender Brodeur. He also mentioned his own man in goal - Johan Holmqvist - did well. And he did.

When I said the score was 200-0, but admitted it was only 2-0, that 2-0 was true but only because the Tampa team pulled tender Holmqvist in the final minute plus for a shooter — always a desperation move. But Jersey scored on the open net, no Holmqvist there by choice. Thus it was a 1-0 game. Holmqvist had 23 saves. The Lightning’s Jay Feaster wants to keep Holmqvist and will try to add an extension to the one-year deal the Swede now has.

The shutout is embarrassing as well. This is a team that includes Lecavalier, St. Louis and the versatile Brad Richards. He, too, is so disappointed in the home losses, saying the Bolts were stung badly by losing at home, that such a thing is “unacceptable,” a popular description. Naturally, somebody made it clear that was Brodeur’s ninth shutout this year, and 89th in a Hall of Fame career.

A team of the firepower of the Bolts simply can’t be shutout, ever. We brag so of the firepower and the versatility of the club, and how most games are sold out. Well, selling out is a trend that performances like that Friday night can fix.

Jose Gaspar indeed went home sober that evening. He so wanted a shooter before the Saturday Gasparilla parade.

1-0… pffffft.