Jonathan Drouin had himself a heck of a game during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. The 21-year-old had three assists (two primary) including setting up Ondrej Palat’s game-winner to give the Lightning a 3-1 series lead.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/722602564496277504
For a guy who once seemed like a sure goner, Drouin has carried some of the offensive load in the playoffs for the injured Steven Stamkos.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper spoke proudly of Drouin following the game, telling Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that he was happy with his effort and said the Lightning never gave up on him.
“I’m unbelievably proud of the way (Drouin’s) handled himself with our team, our staff. He deserves this,” Cooper told Smith. The one thing that gets missed in all of this is we never ever gave up on Jonathan.”
Cooper’s got a point. The Lightning, while stuck in an extremely awkward situation, never relented or gave in to Drouin’s trade request. General manager Steve Yzerman knew he had a talented player on his team, and by keeping him around as an insurance option, the Lightning have another offensive weapon with Stamkos on the shelf.
The relationship once seemed to be toxic and unfixable, but it appears Drouin will be a major part in Tampa Bay going for a second consecutive Stanley Cup run. Who would have thought?
[theScore]
