Why was Jonathan Drouin on the bench in the dying minutes of a one-goal loss?

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
January 31, 2017

TAMPA, Fla. – With the Lightning season all but hanging in the balance, one of the top offensive threats sat plastered to the bench.

With Tampa Bay trailing by a goal late in the third period and in desperate need of a goal, one of the top offensive produces this season didn’t step on to the ice.

But in the dying seconds of a one-goal game, a game that Tampa Bay absolutely had to find a way to get points out of, one of the team’s less offensive talents was tapped to go over the boards to try to find a way to tie the game and at least get it to overtime.

The Lightning would go on to lose 4-3.

{mprestriction ids=”1,2″}For most of the season, the play of Jonathan Drouin has been lauded as the former No. 3 overall pick put the issues from last season that led to a trade request behind him and put forth the type of game that many anticipated he could provide.

One could argue he’s been a bright spot in an otherwise dismal season to this point. With 14 goals and 31 points, he’s well on his way to becoming the dynamic offensive player that he showed he was in junior when he was named the CHL player of the year for 2012-13 and helped lead Halifax to a Memorial Cup title.

Over the past month-plus as Tampa Bay has struggled to find consistent offense, he’s been consistent.

But there he was on Tuesday when the Lightning needed offense late in the game, parked on the bench for the final 3:27 of the game. Drouin was not even tapped on the shoulder in the later stages of the game to serve as the sixth attacker and the net empty, bypassed for Cedric Paquette, who would go on to play the final 1:34 of action and Tampa Bay desperate for a goal.

Paquette, a hard worker who gives an honest effort on almost every shift, has four goals this season. Paquette is generally the type of player who is asked to protect a late lead, not try to overcome one. Need a shot blocked late? Paquette’s the guy. Need somebody to work hard along the walls to protect the puck in the defensive zone to kill time on the clock? Paquettes that guy. Need a last-minute goal in a potential season-saving situation? Paquette’s not the first guy to come to mind. Or the second. Or the third.

The final group of forwards that saw the ice in the final minutes of the game were: Tyler Johnson, Brayden Point (who scored a goal with 2:04 left), Alex Killorn (who scored twice in the game), Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Gabriel Dumont (who was there to take faceoffs in the absence of Brian Boyle who took a misconduct penalty) and Paquette.

Kucherov, who did not have a particularly strong game but has proven to be a clutch player in the past, played the final 3:27 of the game.

Drouin logged less than that for the entire period, taking just five shifts for a total of 3:02 on the ice in the third period, with 1:08 of that on the power play. He didn’t take his first shift until 5:28 mark of the third period.

Some of that could be the fact that it was Drouin and Valtteri Filppula who were on the ice as the two forwards at the end of the second when Boston scored the a go-ahead goal with 0.9 seconds left. Filppula also did not take his first shift until the 5:28 mark of the third period and played just 1:43 of ice time in the third period on just four shifts.

I get that. I understand that rationale from a head coach clearly upset with how the second ended. It’s unacceptable to give up a goal with less than a second remaining in the period.

But with the season on the line and in desperate need of a goal, Jonathan Drouin needs to be on the ice. He’s turned his game around from this time last year, he’s somebody the team needs to count on in these type of situations.

Instead, he was left on the bench, leaving many to wonder why.

When I asked head coach Jon Cooper why, when the team pulled to within a goal, Drouin did not see the ice, and if that was a coach’s decision or something was wrong with Drouin.

”No, we scored a goal, so we wanted to get those guys back out there when we could,’’ Cooper said.

Fair enough, in some aspects. The forward group on the ice when the third goal went in were: Point, Killorn, Dumont and Kucherov. Paquette was not part of that group.

This is not a knock on Paquette, who puts forth a good effort most nights and most shifts. Sometimes you like to reward players for that. But this was not the time to be handing out medals for valiant efforts.

And it’s not to say that Drouin had a good game, quite the contrary as he – along with a few others – looked like passengers during the game.

But this team needed a goal, a potential season-turning goal. And while Paquette had the Lighting’s last shot on goal – a wrist shot from 27 feet away with 44 seconds left – imagine if it had been Drouin with that chance at that moment. Who has the better chance to score that goal in that moment?

That’s who I would want on the ice. I don’t care how he played for the first 59 minutes of the game, because that one moment he can be the difference maker.

That can’t be done from the bench.

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