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Dylan Larkin leaves it all on the ice. Will it be enough to carry the Red Wings into the playoffs? Probably not. The Red Wings have 80 points, trailing the Washington Capitals, with 81. The Capitals have two games in hand. If the Wings fail to make it back to the playoffs, again, it’s not for lack of grit on Larkin’s part. Today’s game against the Florida Panthers made that clear.
Just 28 seconds in, Larkin went down. It appeared he took a puck to the knee. Larkin writhed on the ice for several long seconds. Needing help to get off the ice, fans, and no doubt teammates, assumed the worst, Larkin was out for the season.
Shockingly, Larkin returned for good, and nearly got the team a win. He tied the game up on a Wings power play with just 4:00 remaining. The Wings weren’t able to score a goal in OT, however. The team also couldn’t muster a goal in the shootout, making it the Wings ninth straight road loss. It was clear Larkin was playing injured. Probably, he should not have played at all. With just 8 games remaining, however, it’s also clear he’s the team’s only hope of making it into the playoffs.
Larkin Has Almost No Playoff Experience
Dylan Larkin just returned to the ice on March 21. This was following a lower-body injury which had kept him out of action for 8 games. In that time, the Wings went 2-6, falling out of the playoffs. Hockey is not fair.
Larkin has played 643 NHL games, only five in the playoffs.
Larkin’s NHL career began in the 2015-2016 season. 2016 was also the last year the Red Wings made it to the playoffs. That year, Larkin led that team in goals, his rookie season. The Wings made it to the playoffs, but lost in the first round to Tampa.
It’s clear Larkin is desperate to make it back to the playoffs. Playing hurt is just part of the sacrifice. But, time is running out. The Red Wing have just eight more games to play. Fail, and it’s another year of no playoff hockey. Dylan Larkin, a first round draft pick, Captain of the Red Wings, his hometown team, deserves better.
The Red Wings Wasted a Decade
It was 2015. Dylan Larkin was just 19. And he suited up for the Detroit Red Wings. In fact, Larkin was the first teenager to play opening night in nearly 25 years. He had a goal and an assist his very first NHL game.
Larkin went on to lead the team in goals, with twenty-three. Larkin’s rookie season heroics helped get the Wings into the playoffs. They lost in the first round. Larkin has never been back since. It’s been nearly a decade. A wasted decade, it seems.
This year, the Red Wings had their best shot at making it back to the playoffs in nearly eight years. A month ago, on February 29, the Wings were nine points up in the wildcard race. Since then, they’ve lost 12 games — most of those with Larkin out. The Wings could have done more. Yet, General Manager Steve Yzerman’s baffling refusal to make any impactful moves at the NHL trade deadline was just one big mistake, of several. Coach Derek Lalonde, in only his second year as an NHL head coach, appears to have lost the team. They are fighting amongst themselves. It’s no wonder. Following yesterday’s loss against the Hurricanes, Coach Lalonde called it a “learning lesson.” For Larkin, playing hurt and desperate to make it back to the playoffs, the coach’s lack of urgency must have no doubt added to his pain. Larkin will continue to play injured, but he deserves better.
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