At the break: Jonathan Drouin

MONTREAL - With the Habs off for both the All-Star break and their bye week right afterwards, we took the time to look back at some of the key players on the roster and how their seasons measure up to where they were a year ago. Today: Jonathan Drouin.

Although he would've been happy playing any forward position, Drouin seems to be ecstatic playing on a line centered by new teammate Max Domi.
Last season, Drouin was learning the ins and outs of the center position at the NHL level, and had some measurable progress to show for it by season's end. His effectiveness in the faceoff dot shot up nearly 8% in the final 19 games of 2017-18, and his points-per-60 production jumped 27% in that same stretch as he became more comfortable playing up the middle in his new hockey home in Montreal.
This year, however, a chemistry experiment launched early in the season mixing the Sainte-Agathe native with the Habs newcomer has helped vault both Drouin and Domi - former teammates with Team Canada at the 2012 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament - to the top of the Habs' scoring list, with the latter sitting at the top while the former is in third, only one point behind Tomas Tatar for second, at the 51-game mark.

With 37 points (14G, 23A), Drouin has made an 11-point improvement over last season after the Habs' first 51 games, although he had missed five tilts due to injury in 2017-18.
Although the Canadiens' power play has struggled this season, Drouin has been a bright spot with the man advantage and leads the team with 12 power play points this season. It's the same total he sported last year at the team's 51-game mark, but he has two more goals up a man this time around.

Drouin is also one of the team leaders in multi-point games this season, having collected more than one point in eight of the club's contests, including a season-high three-point night against the Ottawa Senators - a 5-2 win at the Bell Centre in December.
The 23-year-old forward also sits second on the team in shots on goal with 128, and, at an average of 17:41 of ice time per game is head coach Claude Julien's most-used forward after only Phillip Danault. No other Habs forward has averaged more power play time this year than Drouin's 3:16 per game.

If he keeps it up, Drouin is on pace for a 23-goal, 59-point haul this season, which would beat his current career high of 21 goals and 53 points set with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016-17.
Notable quotables
"He's so good. Honestly, it's easy to play with him. He's just incredible and the talent he has with the puck is among the best in the League. We're lucky to have him." -Max Domi after Domi and Drouin each earned three points in a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on December 4
Highlight of the year so far

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