Dylan Larkin played for the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night for the first time since asking for a trade, scoring 13 minutes into his return as Detroit defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-3 at Little Caesars Arena. The 30-year-old was cheered by the same crowd that booed him when he touched the puck on his first shift, joining teammates Alex De Brincat and Lucas Raymond on a forward line.
After the team's morning skate, Detroit coach Todd Mc Lellan told reporters Larkin was on track to play, and that if so, "we expect his best, every shift." Larkin was cleared by doctors earlier in the day and activated off injured reserve just before pregame warmups. His first period was active, with the lead coming in that frame.
Larkin remains in limbo several months after his trade request became public, and Detroit's longtime general manager Steve Yzerman was abruptly moved out of that role in mid-July. Larkin was stripped of the captaincy, reported to training camp despite being injured, missed the start of the season because of injury and received a frosty reaction from home fans during introductions prior to their first game last week.
"It was a lot of emotions. But I think I'm just happy to be a hockey player today and go out and try to help the team win," Larkin said on the Detroit Sports Net postgame show. "We've got a good group of guys in there that battle hard, and we needed this win today. That was most important."
Larkin is a Michigan native who has played his entire NHL career with Detroit, which last made the playoffs in his rookie season a decade ago. That is the longest active drought of any of the league's 32 teams.
Source: ESPN NHL · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing