Jeff Blashill said after the Red Wings' win over the Maple Leafs Friday night that he didn't have an update on Dylan Larkin, who left the game in overtime with an upper-body injury. He'd know more the next day, he said.
But it was clear based on Blashill's body language that things didn't look good.
Sure enough, Blashill told reporters on Saturday that Larkin will be out at least a week, possibly two, with a strained oblique. He eyed next Thursday's game against Vegas as Larkin's earliest return date, which would actually wind up being just a single-game absence.
It's a blow for a team that had won four of its past six games heading into Saturday night's contest in Ottawa. And it's a letdown for Larkin, who's in the midst of a career year that continues to get better.
The 22-year-old center has 22 goals and 49 points in 52 games, including eight points in his last six.
Depending on how long Larkin's out and how the Red Wings fare without him, the decision for Ken Holland to sell at the Feb. 25 trade deadline could become easier.
Asked what kind of blow Larkin's loss will be to the lineup, Blashill said, "It depends on the extent to which the other guys -- how well everybody else plays. When you lose a guy, you feel it way more if (other) guys don't step up. When guys step up and play great hockey you don't feel those losses as much.
"We got a number of forwards that I think on a consistent basis would like more ice time. They'll get more tonight, and let's go out and do the job."
This will be Larkin's first absence of the season -- and possibly the first significant one of his career. He's yet to miss more than two games in each of his first four seasons.
Of the forwards set to see more time, Andreas Athanasiou stands to benefit the most. He'll take over as first-line center, Blashill. Athanasiou is already enjoying a breakout season himself with 17 goals and 33 points in 46 games.
Don't expect the Red Wings to rush Larkin back. The team is in second-to-last place in the East, and Larkin is the most important piece of its future.
