Larkin Stars as Red Wings Bounce Back for 4–2 Win over Canadiens

DETROIT—Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin's first touch of the puck was awkward, inadvertently carrying it into the offensive zone before his teammates had tagged up to earn an offside whistle.  From that point on, however, Larkin did as he pleased, scoring two points in a 4–2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in his 700th career NHL game.

"Huge win for us and a memorable night for myself," Larkin said after the game.  "I think it's going to be memorable the way we played and hopefully we can build off that."

Too often during his career, Larkin's own achievements have been marred by mediocrity around him.  Those 700 career games in the regular season have corresponded to just five career postseason games, a statistic that in no way reflects the quality of hockey he has played in Detroit.  Thursday night offered the chance to follow Larkin's lead and celebrate it on a night of triumph.

By game's end, Detroit had put a season-high 45 shots on net.  That spike in offensive volume and the resulting win over a direct wild card rival emerged from a simple formula.  According to Coach Todd McLellan, the Red Wings were "aggressive and fast."  Per Larkin, the victory boiled down to little more than effective fundamentals.  "We skated, and I thought we were the better skating team," the captain said.  "We got up the ice, forechecked, and caused a lot of turnovers, and then we looked to shoot."

It was a formula that Larkin modeled himself to set up the game's first goal, exactly 13 minutes into the opening period, with a coast-to-coast effort that flaunted the best of his diverse toolkit.

Larkin forced a turnover in the defensive zone, then used his speed to carry the puck through a crowded neutral zone.  He chipped the puck to the corner where he won it back himself, out-muscling rookie defenseman Lane Hutson to do so.  Larkin then slid a pass through traffic to the tape of Jonatan Berggren in the slot, where Berggren got off a one-timed shot that beat Sam Montembeault to give the Red Wings a lead and validate a strong start that wanted only for a goal.

"[The forecheck] was for our line what got us going and what tends to get us going," Larkin said after the game.  He'd been sure to stress that a successful forecheck couldn't just come from a forward line alone and had to include a defense pair too to make a five-man unit, but Larkin created the first goal as a one-man forechecking force.

In the second period, with his team on the power play but the Canadiens having just trimmed a Detroit lead that was 3–0 to 3–1, Larkin pounced at the lane to the net created by Habs defender Mike Matheson dropping to the ice to cut out his chances at passing into the slot.  Larkin dipped around Matheson and shoveled a shot on net.  After Sam Montembeault made the first save, Larkin swatted at it again with his backhand, forcing the puck through to its target.  It was far from his prettiest goal, but it reinforced Detroit's confidence and restored the three-goal cushion.

Of course, to get the victory over the finish line, offense alone wasn't enough for Larkin.  As Montreal chased a 4–2 deficit late and lifted Montembeault for an extra attacker, Larkin remained at the forefront of the Red Wing effort.  He blocked a pair of shots in the closing minutes, and his effort to bowl through Nick Suzuki and tie up a face-off yielded the Juraf Slafkovsky high-sticking minor that effectively ended the Habs' comeback effort with 1:04 to play.

"I think he is the player he is because of his drive and his competitiveness," said McLellan of Larkin after the game. "This is his family.  He's grown up with it.  He's a true Red Wing.  700 games means a lot.  Original Six team.  Detroit.  That's really remarkable."

For too much of that tenure in Detroit, Larkin has been the only remarkable thing about these Red Wings.  On Thursday, he wasn't Detroit's only bright spot, but he was, as he's so often been, the Red Wings' guiding light.  If to win they needed simply to skate, forecheck, and shoot, it was Larkin who established that path and walked it better than any of his teammates could.  When it was time to clinch the win with some defending late, of course it was Larkin ready for that dirty work too.

Earlier that day after morning skate, McLellan spoke to his captain's versatility and the scope of his team's dependence on Larkin, "When the power play comes or there's a special situation, Dylan's already halfway out of his seat...because he knows that we're counting on him."  Against the Canadiens, Larkin showed that trust to be well placed as he guided the Red Wings to two points and the end of a three-game losing streak.

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