Yzerman considered recalling Drouin last week after he learned forward Steven Stamkos would be sidelined 1-3 months with a blood clot near his right collarbone, but a lower-body injury kept Drouin out of an AHL game on April 3.
Tampa Bay entered Thursday with two goals or fewer in four of the past six games, and a power play that ranked 26th in the NHL (16.1 percent). The Lightning are also missing defensemen Anton Stralman (broken leg) and Victor Hedman (upper body), and forward Ryan Callahan (upper body).
Drouin's tumultuous season included being dropped to the fourth line with Tampa Bay (Dec. 30), reassigned to Syracuse (Jan. 2), a trade request revealed (Jan. 3) that went unfulfilled (Feb. 29), walking out on his Syracuse teammates and a suspension without pay (Jan. 20), a phone call to Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman that resulted in his return (March 7), and a one-game scratch for missing a meeting (March 23).
For one night, at least, the negative vibe that hovered over Drouin dissipated into thin air.
"It's been a weird season, but it feels great to be back here playing hockey; that's the thing I wanted to do and something I realized sitting at home," Drouin said. "I'm trying to play the same game I was playing in Syracuse. I need to shoot more and get more chances to the net. I shot the puck to the net more [on Thursday] just like I did in Syracuse."
After a tentative start, Drouin began to find his groove in the second period with center Vladislav Namestnikov and left wing Alex Killorn.
"I've always liked playing with Jonathan; he's so dynamic out there," Killorn said. "I think he was confident. He told me he was trying to go high glove but went five-hole (on his goal). It's one of those things where I think he's got a hot hand right now and it's great that he can come in and help the team out with a game-winning goal."
Drouin, the No. 3 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, drew a roughing penalty on Joseph Blandisi with some feistiness at 3:58, and generated his first good scoring opportunity with a wrist shot at 8:35 of the second. He gave the Lightning a 3-1 lead after controlling a drop pass from Namestnikov in the right circle before taking a wrist shot that beat goaltender Keith Kinkaid between the pads 3:50 into the third. It was Drouin's third NHL goal of the season, first since Dec. 2.