Jon Cooper wants a lineup full of two-way forwards.
The Tampa Bay Lightning head coach offered a frank response when asked about his decision to bench Jonathan Drouin for the majority of the playoffs, saying the rookie forward has yet to display the kind of complete game needed in the postseason.
"There is more than one net in a rink. There's two," Cooper told reporters Sunday. "You have to be able to play in front of both."
The 20-year-old boasts a wealth of offensive talent, recording 32 points in 70 regular-season games in very limited ice time. He's been deployed in only four playoff games, however, with four shots on goal and a minus-4 rating.
So while Drouin could very well aid the Lightning in their quest to advance to the Stanley Cup Final by getting the better of Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers, he clearly hasn't earned the trust of his head coach at the defensive end - meaning he'll continue to get a bird's-eye view of his team's playoff run, for the time being at least.