Ryan Callahan (two goals), Brian Boyle, Anton Stralman face former Rangers teammates

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Ryan Callahan skates after scoring... — Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Ryan Callahan skates after scoring a power play goal against New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist in the first period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

By STEVE ZIPAYsteve.zipay@newsday.comNovember 17, 2014

Ryan Callahan didn't mind the boos and appreciated the tribute. Anton Stralman was pleased by the overall effort of his Tampa teammates. And Brian Boyle said he tried to "play it cool on the bench," but the 5-1 rout of the trio's former team "was something special."

Those were among the emotions from former Rangers captain Callahan, Boyle and Stralman once their first game at Madison Square Garden wearing enemy uniforms had concluded Monday night.

"I couldn't be happier about how much the other guys bought into this game," said Stralman, who played 25:16, blocked five shots and helped bottle up the Rangers. "They knew the importance of what this was meaning to me and Boyler and Cally."

Callahan scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season on just four shots in 14:53, and enjoyed his return, from the brief "Thanks for the Memories" photo collage of the three on the scoreboard at the 6:17 mark of the first period to the jeers.

"What they did [the collage], they didn't have to do that," said Callahan, who was shipped to Tampa in March when he rejected a six-year, $36-million Rangers contract offer without a no-trade clause. "That's the Rangers organization; it shows how classy they are . . . I love playing in front of these fans, this crowd, even though they booed me when I first got the puck. I had a little chuckle about it."

Dan Girardi, Callahan's longtime friend, who played with him in junior, in Hartford and on Broadway, said: "It would have been nice to keep him off the scoresheet. He made us pay a couple of times. It really didn't matter who they had in tonight, we were getting exposed everywhere."

Callahan, who has nine points in his last six games, agreed to a similar six-year deal with the Lightning during the summer, and so far, his first season has lived up to expectations.

"I liked the direction the team was going," he said. "When I first got there [to Tampa], I didn't know what to expect . . . but then my main goal was to try and get back [to the Lightning]."