Drouin discusses why he was late to meeting, understands St. Louis benching him

One day after being late to a team meeting and sitting out for practice, Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin showed up to the rink on Saturday morning and participated in the game-day skate.

The 27-year-old was likely going to be in the press box for Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning for disciplinary reasons, as pointed out my Martin St. Louis, but due to an injury to Kaiden Guhle, Drouin was forced into the lineup.

Once the puck dropped, it wasn't clear how Drouin would have been utilized by St. Louis, if he would sit on the bench or go out for a few shifts throughout the game. After the final buzzer, the box score showed that Drouin didn't play even one second against the Lightning, becoming the first player with an ice-time of 0:00 since Sam Reinhart in March 2017.




When speaking with reporters after the game, Drouin explained why he was late to the team meeting, saying he didn't hear his alarm clock. He added that he was only two minutes late to the meeting, but completely understood St. Louis' approach to the situation and not having him play a shift during Saturday's game.

The following quote is translated from French by DeepL.


With the situation now in the rearview mirror, Drouin will turn his focus to Tuesday's game against the Lightning in Montreal as he looks to help the Canadiens snap their two-game losing streak.