Coming into the season, perhaps the biggest question mark surrounding the Lightning was the play of unproven goaltender Mike Smith, who spent nearly two seasons serving as an understudy to Marty Turco in Dallas. After three seasons of searching for a true No. 1 following the departure of Nikolai Khabibulin, the Lightning may have found their man.

Smith started his 10th consecutive game Sunday in Atlanta and with Olie Kolzig still on the mend, Smith figures to start an 11th straight contest Thursday in Phoenix.

Heading into the season, Smith had never played more than 34 games in a season at the NHL level, with that coming split between Dallas and Tampa Bay last year. Should he start Thursday, it would mark his 33rd game of the season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are no longer a last-place team or winless in Atlanta for nearly two years. Martin St. Louis scored twice, and Mike Smith made 27 saves to help the Lightning move out of the Southeast Division basement with a 4-1 victory over the Thrashers on Sunday night. Tampa Bay (11-18-10) has 32 points, one more than Atlanta (13-22-5).

The Carolina Hurricanes extended their modest winning streak by overcoming a slow start. Joni Pitkanen and Justin Williams each had a goal and an assist, and the Hurricanes rallied from an early two-goal deficit for a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. "We didn't press when we were down 2-0," Williams said.