Jonathan Drouin put all that time off to good use.

The Tampa Bay Lightning forward was a force in Wednesday's Game 1 against the Detroit Red Wings, playing 17:39, firing three shots on goal, throwing two hits, and picking up two penalties. He went to the net, and he was involved in post-whistle scrums. Detroit - especially Justin Abdelkader - took notice.

For Drouin, it was by design. The Lightning suspended the 21-year-old earlier in the season after he left Tampa Bay's minor-league team to await a trade, but he wasn't sitting at home playing video games. Instead, Drouin was in the weight and video rooms.

"I was looking at my tape during my time off, and I was on the outside a little bit too much," Drouin said, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Joe Smith. "I was more on the perimeter. I want to go to those dirty areas."

He did. And head coach Jon Cooper noticed. Drouin's ice time was second among all Tampa Bay forwards, and his 17:39 was the third-most he's played in the NHL all season.

Drouin's clearly playing with something to prove. Whether that's to himself, the Lightning, or a future employer is uncertain. But Cooper put him in a top-six offensive role, and sent him out against Detroit's best players.

"Coach wanted me to prove I can do that," Drouin said about lining up across Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. "It was great."

Drouin's played three games - two in the regular season and one in the playoffs - since being recalled by the Lightning after captain Steven Stamkos was lost to a blood clot. The sample size is small, but Drouin, with two goals and nine shots in those games, is showing why he was a third overall pick.

The talent's there. It always has been. It's up to Drouin to make the most of it, and it seems he may finally be ready to do that.

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