Every night now, Dylan Larkin is flying. He's flying off the wing and lifting a backhander over the glove of John Gibson, he's flying through the middle and beating Petr Mrazek under the blocker. There are defensemen in his wake, like fading contrails. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking:
"I’ve talked a lot this year about ups and downs, and this season statistically has been an up," Larkin said Tuesday. "But I think the mentality for me is just to stay the course and focus game in and game out on what I can bring to the table for this team. I feel like as we’ve improved, our roster has taken a lot of pressure off me to feel like I have to try to be everything and do everything. I think it’s eased myself mentally."
Last season, Larkin's first wearing the 'C,' was a down. The honor seemed like a burden. Under the weight of self-imposed pressure, Larkin struggled to produce. He lost his favorite linemate early in the year, and then he lost his confidence. And after losing the final three weeks of the season to a neck injury that sent him to the hospital, Larkin finished with arguably the worst offensive numbers of his career amid doubts about his status as a No. 1 center.
Those doubts have vanished, like parting clouds. After another multi-point effort in Detroit's victory over Anaheim Monday, including the assist via a face-off on Jordan Oesterle's game-winner, Larkin has 43 points in 41 games, double his pace from last year. His 23 goals are tied for eighth in the NHL and third most among centers, trailing only Auston Matthews and Leon Draisaitl. It's a bummer that COVID-19 concerns forced the NHL out of the Olympics; behind Matthews, Larkin would have been a fine No. 2 for Team USA.
Larkin's resurgence owes to a number of factors. He got healthy over the summer. So did Tyler Bertuzzi, who missed most of last season with a back injury. They were reunited on Detroit's top line and augmented by a Rookie of the Year candidate in Lucas Raymond. The trio was lethal for the first three months of the season. Jeff Blashill dropped Bertuzzi to the second line a couple weeks ago to deepen Detroit's lineup, and Larkin has only picked up the pace. He has 11 points in eight games since. His confidence is soaring.
"Dylan’s done a really good job of skating with the puck, of being strong on the puck, of making less hope plays and more plays when he sees them. And if he doesn’t see them, holding onto it and using his skating to create space. And if it gets sealed off, living another day," Blashill said Monday. "When he does that, he’s a really, really effective player. I think he’s had pretty good confidence all season. I think he’s seen the ice really well all season. He’s attacking the game.
"But I think even in the last stretch, he’s really done a good job of using his skating to allow him to have the puck more. And when he does that, he’s a real, real top-end player."
There have been downs this season for Larkin, too. He was suspended a game for a retaliatory punch after taking a dangerous hit from behind in the season opener, and dealt with a false-positive COVID scare in November. In between, Larkin spent a week away from the team for personal reasons. He asked for privacy upon his return. He has looked lighter on the ice since.
Last year, Larkin often looked weary. He did not look his age. This year, on a team infused with youth, including a pair of precocious rookies who aren't even old enough to buy beer, Larkin looks young again. With a mullet and a smile and a drive in his eye, he looks like a 25-year-old living out his dream.
"I think it’s really brought a joy back for myself, and probably for a lot of guys (on our team), having younger guys around because I can relate to them," Larkin said. "I’m not far removed from that period of my life and I still like to think that I’m with them as a young player in the NHL. Yeah, there’s been times I’ve been able to help them, but they’ve definitely helped me."
Larkin is headed to his second career All-Star Game next weekend. His first came six years ago, as a rookie. Life back then was simple for Larkin, the hometown hero on a playoff team carried by Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Then the machine broke down and Larkin was left to fix it. His childhood team became his charge. When he took on the 'C' last year, he took on maybe more than he could bear.
"Like everything in life, you learn as you go," Larkin said. "It's a role where you still have to be yourself. You still have to play the game. And I think what you do on the ice and the kind of person you are in the locker room is far more important than any pep talk or anything you can do that is just for show. You have to truly be yourself and be there for the guys, and that’s what I’ve tried to be."
Along with Danny DeKeyser, Larkin is one of the only remaining links to the Red Wings' last playoff team. The Joe was still home. The captain was still Z. Jeff Blashill, who coached his 500th game last week, was in his first season behind the bench. Larkin was flying down the wing and scoring goals, like the game was still easy. But the game got hard, and the Wings fell harder. A lot of it fell on Larkin. He said he thinks about the last few seasons because "it's there, it happened," and because he hopes it never happens again.
"You try and look at positives, but it was a hard time," he said. "There was a fear that you don’t want be in that position again. That really drove me in summers and motivated me, hopefully for the best."