DALLAS — Going cold in the playoffs is never a good thing, especially when you're up for a new contract in the summer. That's exactly what has happened with Jonathan Drouin.
He's no dummy, either. He knows he's got more to give.
"Offensively, I don't like my game," Drouin told The Denver Gazette prior to a 6-2 loss in Game 5 at American Airlines Center. "Five-on-five, I'm not creating a lot. I'm tracking, I'm reloading things, I'm doing the other things, but need to create a little bit more offensively."
Last summer, Drouin signed a one-year extension with the Avalanche, turning down long-term contracts from other teams to stay in a spot where he found his footing last season.
It's been a tough year, though. Drouin spent most of the first half of the season on the injured reserve with a wrist issue. And when it looked like he had hit his stride down the stretch in the regular season, another injury hit, forcing him to miss Colorado's last six games.
He doesn't want to use that as an excuse. He knows he needs to be better and is trying to stay positive, hoping things will work out.
To his credit, at least he's honest about his game and where it's at. His coach had almost the same things to say about Drouin's game.
"He's fought it a little bit, there's no question," Jared Bednar said. "I do like the way he's working on the defensive side of things. He's still bringing a consistent work ethic and good detail to his game on the checking side. ... I think he needs to relax a little bit and trust his skating in order to be a dangerous player."
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Those struggles continued in the Game 5 loss for Drouin.
Competitive Western Conference
The return of Kirill Kaprizov and the late-season push by the St. Louis Blues has made the Western Conference playoffs extremely competitive. Heading into Monday, all four series were tied at two.
That doesn't surprise anyone.
"It's hard matchups," Drouin said. "It didn't really matter who you were going to face coming out of the West. You're going to face a very good team in the first round and throughout the playoffs. Not very surprised everything is tied."
Nasty Florida series
The Panthers came back to win Game 4 and take a stranglehold over the Tampa Bay Lightning. It's a good thing they did because they might be without two key defensemen for Game 5.
Both Niko Mikkola and Aaron Ekblad laid some nasty hits on Lightning forwards that will probably see them get a call from the league. Mikkola was ejected for boarding a defenseless Zemgus Girgensons while Ekblad essentially gave Brandon Hagel the forearm shiver.
