Drouin returns to ice, driven to regain form for Canadiens in Qualifiers

Jonathan Drouin has proven he can elevate his game when it matters the most. The forward said he expects to do it again in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers when the Montreal Canadiens play the Pittsburgh Penguins in one of eight best-of-5 series to determine who will compete in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"There's a different feeling," Drouin said Wednesday, one day after skating with three teammates at Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, Quebec. "I'm not the only one that gets that. I'm not nervous to go into this qualifier. Usually there's something I strive for and I play well."

When Drouin joined forwards Paul Byron, and Charles Hudon, and goalie Michael McNiven, on Tuesday, it was the first time he was on the ice in three months, the longest layoff of his life.

"For me, those three months were huge for my ankle and my wrist," Drouin said. "I just jumped on yesterday and could shoot the puck normally like I used to do back then. Same thing for my ankle, so that's nice. Hopefully when we get treatment it's going to be even better."

Drouin, who turned 25 on March 28, has played 23 NHL playoff games, 17 at age 20 when he scored 14 points (five goals, nine assists) to help the Tampa Bay Lightning reach the 2016 Eastern Conference Final. In junior hockey, Drouin scored 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists) in 17 playoff games to help Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League win the Presidents' Cup and Memorial Cup in 2013.

"My game just goes up in playoff hockey like it did in hockey tournaments," Drouin said.

Like the Canadiens, Drouin aspires to make the most of a second chance and revive what may have developed into his best NHL season before it was interrupted by wrist surgery, a sprained ankle, and the pause March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

The Canadiens, the No. 12 seed in the East, enter the qualifiers with a .500 points percentage (31-31-9), the lowest among the 24 teams returning to play. But when Drouin was healthy, they were better. He scored 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in the first 19 games of the season, when Montreal averaged 3.44 goals per game. The Canadiens were 10-5-3 and 6-1-1 in eight games before Nov. 15 at the Washington Capitals, when Drouin tore a tendon in his wrist after an awkward fall.

He missed three months after surgery. Montreal was 15-18-4 without him, including two eight-game losing streaks, and scored 2.81 goals per game.

"At that time, my game was going well, we were playing well," Drouin said. "We were winning, and we were happy with our game, and it was the same for me. Everyone was going in the right direction and then that injury occurred."

Drouin went eight games without a point after returning until the ankle sprain against the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 25 and hasn't played since. Cleared for the qualifiers by Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin on May 27, Drouin eyes a return to form when games resume, knowing he can get to a level not yet seen since he was traded to Montreal for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev on June 15, 2017.

"I'm not nervous, I can get back to that," he said. "I saw that I can be an impact player every night if I show up and play the game I'm supposed to play. That was a good time for me."