Tag: Dylan Larkin

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Dylan Larkin says Red Wings must toughen up

The Detroit Free Press

Detroit Red Wings fans were riding high and dreaming of a postseason spot after an incredible late February 4-1 road swing that included victories over the Edmonton Oiler and Calgary Flames, followed by a complete victory at home over the contending New York Rangers.

But then, Detroit ran into a brick wall in the form of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Russian superstar made 45 saves in a Herculean shutout effort in late February, stealing the game for the Tampa Bay Lightning. But it was two straight brutal losses against the Atlantic Division rival Ottawa Senators that essentially sealed Detroit’s fate of once again being a seller at the Trade Deadline. 

Not only did Detroit lose the back to back series against Ottawa by a combined score of 12-3, but they were completely outmatched physically and offered little pushback, even when yapping Senators captain Brady Tkachuk challenged the Red Wings bench. 

General manager Steve Yzerman talked about the need to be a more physical team to play against next year in his end-of-season media remarks, and it wasn’t long before captain Dylan Larkin echoed his sentiments. 

“There were plenty of times this year I felt guys took liberties,” Larkin said earlier today. “Whoever it was, whatever their role on the other team — their tough guys — they kind of had free nights. I think that’s something that needs to be addressed, to have an answer to that.”

To Larkin’s credit, he’s shown absolutely no hesitation to mix it up with the opposition. Understandably, Detroit wouldn’t be fond of their captain and top player risking injury by fighting. And while the team did add much-needed grit last offseason in the form of Ben Chiarot, more pushback is needed. 

“You can’t have Mo Seider step up and look over his shoulder all night,” Larkin said. “But in terms of playing competitive games, where it’s just battling and competing, I think we’re there. The Ottawa games were more so where those tough guys were running around and we didn’t have an answer for it.”

“But when we stuck together, when we played hard, guys blocked shots — we had countless injuries with broken bones and guys doing it the whole season. So I thought we really competed together and you saw scrums and guys were in there together, sticking up for each other.”

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Dylan Larkin has good news for Red Wings fans

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The Detroit Red Wings have completed the fourth year of what they like to refer to as the “Yzerplan”, named for beloved former team captain and current general manager Steve Yzerman. And while the good news is that the team did make progress in the recently completed 2022-23 NHL season, the bad news is that they once again finished outside of the postseason, making it seven straight years of being unable to compete for the Stanley Cup. 

For captain Dylan Larkin, who was re-signed to a lengthy eight year contract extension by the team earlier this year, he believes that they’ve set the wheels in motion for a return to postseason play next year. 

“There was a lot of new this year, a lot of new players coming in, a lot of us trying to build chemistry, everyone trying to figure each other out, figure out where they are on the team and in the lineup,” Larkin said. “We had injuries to start camp and hopefully next year we won’t be in that position, and we can really push each other and have a great camp and start the year great.”

“We heard a lot now about Steve’s plan and the direction this is going, where this wasn’t really the year and he wanted to make moves for the future,” Larkin said. “It was very difficult after the trade deadline. We took 4-5 guys out of the lineup, had key injuries.

“But there were plenty of times I felt with the younger players and guys we brought in in the summer, this thing is headed in the right direction. As much as you think about next year you think with the young players coming into our lineup, it’s a much better environment for them to succeed. That’s what I’m really excited about.” 

Because Detroit will have had a full season of getting used to playing in head coach Derek Lalonde’s system, Larkin believes that they’ll be able to have an even quicker start to the year next season.

“Newsy’s been saying it to us the last couple weeks, we’re going to start on the 50-yard line and we’re going to be familiar with each other, familiar with the system, and I think that’s huge.”

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Red Wings voice frustration over missing postseason

Yahoo Sports

The 2022-23 season for the Detroit Red Wings officially came to a close last night in frustrating fashion, as they were unable to score a single goal in what was a 5-0 setback against the Tampa Bay Lightning. And what was looming after two straight blowout losses to the Atlantic Division rival Ottawa Senators last month became official last week – the Red Wings aren’t a playoff team yet. 

This now makes seven straight seasons on the outside looking in at the postseason after a record breaking 25 year streak. For captain Dylan Larkin, who has only played in five career postseason games that took place in his rookie season, the frustration of facing another early summer was especially palpable.

“It’s very disappointing,” Larkin said following Detroit’s 5-0 loss to the Lightning in their regular season finale. “It’s been very difficult since the trade deadline, emotionally, physically. We traded away a lot of guys, guys played through injuries. We wanted to get back to .500 and finish on a good note and it didn’t happen. The message was there, it’s been there — there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in this locker room, and I think hopefully — I say it every year, but hopefully we’re not in this position much longer.”

Detroit briefly occupied the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference after a thrilling Western road swing that saw them win four of five, followed by another victory at home over the New York Rangers. But things really began to fall apart after Detroit dominated the Lightning at home on February 25 but lost, firing 45 shots on goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy but failing to light the lamp. Detroit then was physically dominated by the Senators, dropping two in a row by a combined score of 12-3.

It was then that general manager Steve Yzerman decided to do what he had planned on doing all along and sell off assets at the Trade Deadline. You may remember that it was Larkin who fought back tears while speaking publicly immediately after the Red Wings traded his longtime teammate and friend Tyler Bertuzzi to the Boston Bruins. The Red Wings also traded forward Oskar Sundqvist to the Minnesota Wild, dealt defenseman Filip Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks, and Jakub Vrana to the St. Louis Blues. 

“It’s really hard if you’re missing key players, motors I want to even say, in the lineup,” sophomore defenseman Moritz Seider said. “It’s very disappointing. I think we all had higher expectations for that game, we wanted to be a .500 team, and we didn’t achieve that. I think frustration, a little bit of sadness, will be on the way back on the plane for sure. But other than that I think we can be very proud of ourselves, took big strides this year in almost every category. There’s a lot of positives to think back on.”

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Red Wings lose captain Dylan Larkin to injury

Draft Kings Nation

The Detroit Red Wings are on the road for their final two games of the 2022-23 NHL regular season, and minutes before tonight’s game against the postseason-bound Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced that their most important player won’t be hitting the ice.

Minutes ago, the Red Wings official Twitter feed announced that captain Dylan Larkin will not be playing tonight due to a lower body injury.

Earlier this afternoon, the Red Wings recalled forward Danny O’Regan from the American Hockey League Grand Rapids Griffins. Due to Larkin’s absence from the lineup, don’t be surprised to see him slotted in. With 32 goals and 47 assists this year, the Red Wings captain established a new career high in points. 

The Red Wings and Hurricanes will get underway from PNC Arena tonight starting at 7:00 PM EST. 

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All Hell breaks loose in Detroit, Larkin dusts Skinner at center ice!

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Who says old time hockey is done? 

Who says you need the playoffs for a good atmosphere?

Two non-playoff teams fighting for their lives can provide fans with the absolute best in entertainment. Which brings me to tonight’s game between the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings where a bit of a melee broke out following a high hit from Sabres forward Jeff Skinner on Red Wings sophomore Lucas Raymond.

Check it out:

Old time hockey, baby!

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Dylan Larkin hits new career high with hat trick vs. Leafs

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Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, who was recently re-signed by the team to an eight year contract extension, reached a new career high in points on Sunday night against his team’s Original 6 rival in the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

His three goals on the night were good for his second career hat trick, giving him a total of 31 on the season. He’s equaled his goal total of last season, and needs one more to tie his previous high of 32 set in 2018-19. It’s also the third 30-goal season of his NHL career. 

It certainly was a nice gesture for veteran forward David Perron, who scored a hat trick earlier in the week of his own against the Pittsburgh Penguins, to retrieve the puck for Larkin after he hit the open net late in the 3rd period, sealing Detroit’s win.