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JOANNE KORTHIf the Lightning playoff pattern continues, the former Flame is due for an offensive outburst.
TAMPA - Cory Stillman sees the irony.
The Lightning wing was a first-round draft choice by Calgary in 1992 and spent his first seven NHL seasons with the Flames. Now, his first chance to compete for the Stanley Cup is against his former team.
"It is very interesting, that's for sure," Stillman said.
But will it be inspiring?
Tampa Bay was led in its past two series by players with past ties to the opponent. Vinny Lecavalier scored five goals against his hometown Canadiens. Ruslan Fedotenko scored six against his former Flyers. Maybe the familiar site of the Flames logo is just the spark Stillman needs.
A top scorer for the Lightning during the regular season, Stillman has just two goals in the playoffs. Though he has made important contributions with his defensive effort, coach John Tortorella would like to see him score.
"In this series here, we're going to need more offense out of him," Tortorella said. "But his penalty killing has been fantastic and the intangibles that he brings and the little things that people don't notice or talk about have been there. But eventually your top scorers need to be your top scorers and your best players need to be your best players. He is one of our best players, and he knows that."
Stillman had 80 points - 25 goals, 55 assists - for the Lightning during the regular season, second only to Martin St. Louis' league-best 94. In 15 playoff games, Stillman has two goals and four assists.
The goals came at critical times: a short-handed breakaway against Montreal in Game 3 of the East semifinal and the first goal of Game 3 against the Flyers in the conference final. Both provided huge boosts and quieted rowdy out-of-town crowds.
"What's working is we're winning," said Stillman, who plays on Brad Richards' line with Fredrik Modin. "Would it be nice to have more points? Yeah. Am I worried about it? Not really.
"I think there's two ways to look at it. I want to play well defensively and not give anything up. I'd like to help out a bit more on the scoreboard. But as long as we win and I'm counted on to play an important role, whether it's killing penalties or playing the last minute of the game, I really don't care about my points."
The Richards-Modin-Stillman line certainly has been productive. Richards has eight playoff goals, Modin seven. Stillman's teammates believe it is just a matter of time before his shots find their mark.
"I feel very comfortable the way he's playing," Modin said. "Obviously he had a lot of points during the regular season and as soon as he doesn't get all those points, people are going to look at that. But he's working hard. He does the little things to try to get the puck in and the puck out. And a couple of those shots he's been taking have been so close to going in."
Now, Stillman will be firing away against his former club.
"I'm sure that's going to give him a little extra boost," Modin said.