KITCHENER, Ontario - Cory Stillman couldn't really remember how he scored his first Lightning goal. All the left wing knew was that it felt "nice."
"You want to get this thing rolling," he said Tuesday after a 2-2 tie with the Sabres at Memorial Auditorium. "It's nice to start a roll going into the season."
For the record, Stillman was on his knees in front of the net when he poked in the rebound of Pavel Kubina's shot to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead 7:58 into the third period.
"What we really liked was that Cory got to the front of the net and refused to move," associate coach Craig Ramsay said. "It was great to see."
There wasn't much more to talk about after a sloppy game stifled by 15 minor penalties. In the last 1:56 of the second period, the Lightning was called four times and faced three five-on-threes.
Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin played well and stopped 29 shots. Daniel Briere tied the score with 9:31 left. The Lightning (4-1-1) lost its four-game winning streak but increased its unbeaten streak to five.
The parade to the penalty box made it difficult to judge the players still fighting for jobs.
"We were trying to give everybody a chance (on special teams), otherwise they weren't going to get to play," Ramsay said. "We'll review the tape and go over what we've got."
On at least one play, it got everything needed from Stillman, who also was assisted by linemate Vinny Lecavalier.
HEATLEY'S LESSON: Lecavalier drives the same model, a Ferrari 360 Modena, that Thrashers star Dany Heatley crashed into a wall.
"You always have to be careful because life is held by a thread," Lecavalier said. "I've been in some close calls when I was 18 and 19 when I was not really conscious of what I was doing. Even with a fast car, you have to be real careful. I won't do stupid things to risk my life."
WAIVER DRAFT: We find out today which players the team will expose in Friday's waiver draft. Each team can protect 18 players and two goaltenders. Most younger players are exempt because of a lack of professional seasons (including the minors) or games.
It also can be a cat and mouse game. Players who are exempt from the waiver draft but not conventional waivers (the rules are slightly different) may be exposed anyway.
It is a calculated risk. Monetary compensation must be paid to claim a player. And the claiming team must then expose an additional player. That makes it somewhat less likely claims will be made. Unclaimed players are then classified as having cleared conventional waivers.
The Lightning could use that strategy with forwards Sheldon Keefe, Martin Cibak and Dmitry Afanasenkov. A word of caution. The team tried it last season with defenseman Mathieu Biron and lost him to the Panthers.
ODDS AND ENDS: Right wing Nikita Alexeev required four stitches under his nose after he was hit by a puck during practice. ... Defenseman Dan Boyle practiced for the first time since sustaining a contusion under his collar bone Thursday against the Hurricanes.
