Dylan Larkin stormed back onto the ice for the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night, and it was a total rollercoaster: boos turned into cheers as he personally drove them to a 5-3 victory over Ottawa. What a way to kick off his season after missing the preseason and the first two regular season games due to an upper body injury! This win snapped the Red Wings’ two-game losing streak and made the team look way more inspired than before.
From Boos to Goals: Larkin’s Fiery Start
Man, the start was something else. Larkin was greeted with loud boos from the crowd every time he hit the ice or touched the puck. And yeah, Ottawa made him look a little bad early on when Tim Stutzle scored to make it 1-0 at 2:44 of the first, with Larkin on the ice. But the Red Wings hit back fast. Just 32 seconds later, Alex DeBrincat backhanded a loose puck past Ottawa goalie Samuel Ersson to tie it up. Then Larkin, just after a power play expired, batted a centering pass from Viktor Arvidsson past Ersson, giving Detroit a 2-1 lead in the first period. Talk about a quick turnaround, those boos had to be fading after that one.
Fists, Assists, and the Unanswered Trade Question
Larkin wasn’t done making an impact. Early in the second period, he returned the favor to Arvidsson. On the power play, Arvidsson slammed home a rebound off Larkin’s shot, putting the Wings up 3-1 at 2:01. But the wildest moment? Larkin went absolutely after Ottawa’s Ridly Greig after Greig hit DeBrincat. That sparked a full-on brawl between the two teams right at the end of the second period. Justin Faulk netted another goal for the Red Wings, while Draker Batherson (on the power play) also scored for Ottawa. Ottawa’s William Eklund made things super tight at 10:30 of the third, cutting the lead to 4-3 by bouncing a shot off Detroit goalie John Gibson. But DeBrincat, with his second goal of the night, sealed it with an empty net power play goal with 50 seconds left, making it 5-3. Remember all the drama? Larkin requested a trade back in June, and even though GM Steve Yzerman was removed in July and present GM Shawn Horcoff is in charge, the Wings never even got close to moving him. This guy puts up a goal and an assist, starts a brawl, and just leads his team to a much-needed win. If he keeps playing like this, it’s gonna be tough for Detroit to get full value if a trade ever actually happens.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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