Drouin fueled by late-season slump: 'I have to be consistent for 82 games'

Jonathan Drouin knows the Montreal Canadiens need his best every night if they're going to succeed.

"Last year, I fell off toward the end of the season," the forward said, according to NHL.com. "This summer, I looked at why that happened and at the things that I can change so that it doesn't happen this year. I have to be consistent for 82 games."

Drouin enjoyed a terrific start to the 2018-19 campaign, tallying 37 points over his first 52 contests. The 24-year-old recorded just four goals and 16 points over his final 30 games, however, as the Canadiens missed the playoffs by two points.

"Who knows, if it weren't for those 30 games I had at the end of last year, maybe we're in the playoffs," he said. "For me, it's just to be able to look at myself in the mirror and know that I did something to be able to help our team make the playoffs this year."

This summer, Drouin turned to Canadiens assistant coach Dominique Ducharme - his former coach with the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads - to help him analyze video to better understand his strengths and weaknesses. That offseason initiative has impressed head coach Claude Julien.

"A guy who takes charge of his career and his situation is a good sign," Julien said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "He's still a young player, so that's the exciting part of it. He's a young player that wants to improve, so hopefully, that's what's going to happen. If he does, he's going to make our team that much better.

"He has the ability to be an impact player when he wants to be."

Drouin signed a six-year, $33-million contract with the Canadiens in June 2017 after Montreal acquired him in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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