Drouin set to face Lightning for first time with Canadiens
RALEIGH, N.C.
-- Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin didnt expect to have an NHL homecoming game at age 22, but thats what he will experience when the Canadiens visit the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m.
ET; SUN, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV).
Drouin, selected by Tampa Bay with the No.
3 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, will play the Lightning for the first time since they traded him to the Canadiens on June 15, when he also signed a six-year contract.
I have good feelings going there, said Drouin, who was traded for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, the No.
9 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
Obviously, the situation was a little weird, but I dont have bad feelings against anybody.
I had fun times in Tampa..
Drouin was suspended by Tampa Bay during the 2015-16 season for not reporting to a game with Syracuse of the American Hockey League.
He later rejoined Syracuse, playing 17 AHL games that season, before returning to the Lightning and scoring 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
He had 53 points (21 goals, 32 assists) in 73 games in 2016-17, his third season with the Lightning.
The native of Ste-Agathe, Quebec, has 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 32 games for Montreal.
Its a little different here, Drouin said Wednesday before the Canadiens 3-1 loss to the Hurricanes at PNC Arena.
We play differently.
Lately I have been happy with the way Ive been playing.
Im playing center, and theres a learning curve in this League.
Its a little different than in junior, playing center.
Every day Im learning and getting better..
The Lightning players know well what their former teammate can do.
[Drouin] is a shifty little guy (6-foot, 203 pounds) who can dominate a game, Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said Wednesday at practice in Tampa.
We know hes going to be on his toes and we expect him to have his best game of the year.
Dont let him skate up the ice with speed and room.
Thats where he is very shifty and can turn you inside out..
Drouin sounds content in Montreal, where he centers the top line with Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher.
He said the lessons learned with the Lightning are paying off with the Canadiens.
Some guys just show up (in the NHL) and everything goes well, he said.
It wasnt the case for me.
I had a lot of stuff to work on and get better at.
Going to Syracuse actually helped me quite a bit [to prepare] for the playoffs.
Its nice to have that background now.
I feel like I can just play hockey and help the team here..
As for his time with Tampa Bay, he said that it could have gone better.
Youre a young guy and youre stubborn and you want to play hockey, Drouin said.
The one thing is I would be more patient and [see] a bit more of the big picture.
But I reacted and did my own thing, and I dont regret it.
I ended up in Montreal.
Its my hometown team.
I grew up watching hockey there.
Its hard to regret what I did..
Drouin said he took his friendships from Tampa Bay with him.
We still text a lot, Drouin said of him and his former teammates.
You try to keep it low.
They have their own stuff going on and we do as well.
There wasnt bad blood anywhere..
Hedman said, Its always sad to see guys go, but we know its part of the business.
Hes a tough player to play against.
I think he showed last year what kind of a player he is.
He has unbelievable poise with the puck, he can find those open seams.
We know hes going to be a handful for many years in Montreal..
NHL.
com correspondent Corey Long contributed to this report.
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