A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens Roundup: Marc Bergevin’s role in a future playoff hunt

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 06: Jonathan Drouin #92 of the Montreal Canadiens hands over his jersey to a fan after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in a shootout during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 6, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 06: Jonathan Drouin #92 of the Montreal Canadiens hands over his jersey to a fan after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in a shootout during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 6, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 04: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Kenneth MacMillan: Drouin is currently getting hammered for his lackadaisical defensive effort, and inability to step up in big games. The thing is, no one was talking about that until the last quarter of the season. Drouin had just 7 points in his last 25 games, and that’s not good enough; however, that means he had 46 points in his first 56 games which is a 67 point pace over a full season. Drouin just needs to find a bit more consistency offensively, and reach his 70 point potential, and the complaints about his effort and defensive awareness will vanish.

Dillon ‘Dom’ Dominique: Drouin needs to take a look across the locker room at a guy like Brendan Gallagher or even Max Domi and realize what is expected of him. He’s too talented to take shifts off down the stretch when the team needs him most in the midst of a playoff push.

Andrew Shaw called out the team for “taking nights off,” but we know who he was talking about… I think it’s possible that Drouin experienced a drop in confidence causing the slump in which he put up 6 points in his last 25 games, but that doesn’t explain the inconsistent effort. That is inexcusable. He needs to come out next season with something to prove, we need to see the hunger in him.

A lot of people scrutinize him for his lack of defensive awareness and his inability to compete at that end of the ice, but to me, his offense is his biggest concern. I know he finished 18th in points for LW’s, but he has the ability to put up 70 plus points if he were to simplify his game. Too often we see him try to skate through a crowd of bodies near the blue line ultimately winding up in a brutal turnover that almost always winds up into a high danger scoring chance or goal against.

His defensive ineptness is something I can overlook to an extent if he were putting up 70 points and or bringing his all every game or at least every game that really matters. He’s a polarizing player that I believe can turn it around but his time is running out.

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