In a positive report for the Detroit Red Wings organization, captain Dylan Larkin was back at practice this morning as a full participant (X Link). It is undetermined whether or not Larkin will be available in the team’s important game tomorrow night against the New York Islanders.
Working his way back from a lower-body injury suffered on March 2nd, the team as a whole as certainly looked different without their captain in the mix. Since Larkin’s exit after the game against the Florida Panthers, the team has produced a 2-6-0 record, coupled with a pedestrian 2.5 GF/G.
With only 13 games remaining in the regular season for Detroit, they will be hoping that Larkin’s return to the lineup will bring an added boost to the rest of the roster. Amid a battle for the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Red Wings are looking to break a seven-year playoff drought by the end of the season.
Other injury notes:
- David Alter of The Hockey News is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves will miss tonight’s game due to an eye injury. The injury was suffered in the team’s most recent game against the Philadelphia Flyers and was likely due to Reaves’ fight against Flyers grinder Nicolas Deslauriers. In Reaves’ absence, depth forward Noah Gregor will draw into the lineup after not having played since March 16th.
- Sticking with the Original Six theme, the Chicago Blackhawks have some injury concerns as well, as Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that forward Colin Blackwell is out with an upper-body injury. Without much to play for down the final stretch of the season, it is still unfortunate news for the organization. Over the team’s last five games, Blackwell has been on a solid streak, scoring three goals and four points, with all three of those goals coming in a game against the Arizona Coyotes.
Hope Larkin is healthy and can lead the wings to the post season…
Me too, but he, one good player can’t fix the defensive aspect of the RW game. He is not one of the ones consistently out of position, not covering critical areas of the D zone and he is not known for constant giveaways resulting in goals against.
Have a look at the RW top forwards in points. Then look at their plus minus. Mid ground point guys are also aware of their D responsibilities. Just don’t get recognized for it. Its a 200 foot rink with responsibilities in all 3 zones. O-N-D. Yep, hard skating, and mental decisions, but then, pro salaries are there to induce hard skating and quick mental decisions.. Time to ge t your money’s worth from everyone.
Too bad for the Hawks. Blackwell was doing everything for the team and was one of their best Penalty Killers. They need all the help they can get.
Reaves is an embarrassment! How does Treliving give this guy over 3 million and keep his job?
At this point I’d try:
Debrincat – Larkin- Kane
Rasmussen – Compher – Fischer
Perron – Copp – Raymond
Veleno – Czarnik – Fabbri