Not only has Cory Stillman scored five goals, he has become a locker room leader.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published October 29, 2003
[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]
Cory Stillman, left, celebrates a goal with Vinny Lecavalier on opening night.
TAMPA - It was said in such an even tone of voice and so matter of factly, it would have been easy to miss had you not listened closely.
But when left wing Cory Stillman said Oct. 21, after a 3-2 overtime victory against Atlanta, that if not for goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, the Lightning might be 2-2 instead of 4-0, it was notable.
When he warned the next day that errors that jeopardized the victory could jeopardize a season if not addressed, it was much more.
Stillman said it was no big deal.
"You asked the question," he said.
Stillman, acquired last summer from the Blues for a second-round draft pick, has had all of the answers.
The Peterborough, Ontario, native leads Tampa Bay with five goals, is tied for second with seven points and is plus-2. He has a short-handed goal and a winner and is tied for second in the league with four power-play goals.
But it was his gentle reproach that seemed to confirm his place not only as the playmaker for which the Lightning traded, but another strong voice in the locker room.
"He's a man who has been in the league and seen a lot of circumstances," coach John Tortorella said after Tuesday's practice. "He understands the game. It's good to have another voice. That's when the locker room takes over."
"I won't hesitate to say," Stillman said. "But I'm not a guy who's going to bark orders at everybody."
Drawing from experience will do just fine. That is all Stillman said he was doing when he spoke up after the Thrashers game.
Stillman's Blues won nine consecutive games last season in October then lost six of nine. So when the Lightning lost a two-goal third-period lead, Stillman believed the warning signs were obvious.
"You come to play every night, or you're going to lose hockey games," he said. "A win is great, but any time you can win a few in a row and put a stretch together is going to help you in the standings.
"I just knew from that experience of winning some games in a row, that things sneak up on you. I've had that experience some of these guys might not have had yet."
Still, for someone who had played just four games for a new team, taking the leadership role was bold.
"I don't know if it is or it isn't," Stillman said. "Whether it's leadership, whether other guys read it (in the newspaper), I hope they did. The best thing is if they did read it, everybody responded well to it."
The Lightning played extremely well two days later when it beat the Blue Jackets 1-0 at Columbus. At 6-0, the team is on a franchise-best win streak. Only eight teams in league history have started a season better.
Stillman, 29, responded, too. Acquired as a hedge against the eventual loss to free agency of points leader Vinny Prospal, Stillman played the preseason and start of the regular season with a measuring stick gauging every stride and shot on goal.
In case you are keeping score, Stillman has three more goals and two more points in six games than Prospal has in his first 10 with the Ducks.
He has done it by finding the open spaces in front of the net. Stillman reads the flow of the game exceptionally well, and when he finds time and space, he opens his body to the play to give teammates the largest target he can at which to feed the puck.
"There are some goals you simply go to the net and jam in a rebound," Tortorella said. "But there are other goals you're going to score where you need to read the position of the defense, and that's where his strong point has been, playing without the puck."
Stillman has buried his chances, scoring on 5 of 14 shots. If there has been a downside, it has been a lack of five-on-five scoring.
"You only get, maybe, one or two chances a game," he said. "When you do, you have to capitalize. Otherwise, it can haunt you later in the game."
Stillman was talking about himself. But anyone in earshot would have done well to listen.
