Dylan Larkin yelped after wristing a shot on goal -- loudly enough that it could be heard in the press box -- shook his right hand and skated straight for the Red Wings dressing room. He returned for the second period of Detroit's 1-0 loss to the Hurricanes Tuesday night, but was absent for the third.
He will miss Wednesday's game against the Wild, at the very least.
"Honestly, don't know (more than that)," Derek Lalonde said after the Wings' third loss in a row and sixth in the last eight games. "Doc came in and said he's not playing tomorrow, and we'll go from there."
Where the Red Wings go from here could hinge largely on Larkin's injury, the result of blocking a shot late in the first period. The team is already battered up front, missing two of its top scorers in Tyler Bertuzzi and Jakub Vrana and two more top-nine forwards in Robby Fabbri and Filip Zadina. Its roster is deeper this season, but deep enough to weather the loss of its best player? That would be a different story.
Desperate for a goal in the third period Tuesday, the Wings were impotent against one of the top teams in the East. They could hardly gain control of the puck, much less go anywhere with it. Credit Carolina's smothering system, but it was clear how much Detroit missed its captain. It was disconcerting to know it might be without him. Andrew Copp, who might soon be shouldering a much heavier load, said the Hurricanes' third period execution is "the film they're going to show" at the start of each season. And this might be the film Larkin's agent shows to Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings.
"He's a driver," said Lalonde. "He's a transporter of the puck. Obviously with some of the offense we already have out, he's still pushed us. He pushes linemates whoever he's with, produces analytically, he drives, so obviously a big piece with a team that's already not going to produce or has not produced a ton of five-on-five offense."
Tuesday was the ninth game this season in which Larkin was held without a point; the Wings have won three of them. In fact, they have won just seven of 22 when he's held to one point or fewer. They go as their captain goes, not that this is any surprise. Despite the upgrades Yzerman made to the roster in the offseason, Larkin remains the Red Wings' most important player.
If he only misses a game or two, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. If he's out for an extended period of time -- a broken finger sounds likely -- the Wings could be in trouble. Their scrappy start to the season could be quickly erased. Without Larkin, Detroit's top three players down the middle are Andrew Copp, Joe Veleno and Michael Rasmussen, none of whom possesses the speed to push defenders backward. (Fabbri, who's nearing a return from his torn ACL, can play some center, but he's better suited on the wing.) That is ... not ideal.
Larkin isn't just the Wings' top offensive threat. He's their matchup center, the player Lalonde deploys against the opposition's top line every night. His five-on-five metrics are a bit down this season, largely because he's starting more of his shifts in the defensive zone than ever. That he's still produced at a point-per-game pace is a tribute to his ability to tilt the ice. The ice was tilted severely against Detroit -- at home, trailing by a goal -- in the final 20 minutes Tuesday night.
The Red Wings have had such an encouraging start to their first season under Lalonde. This is their first sign of danger. They're slipping in the standings as points fall by the wayside, down from ninth in the NHL just a few weeks ago to ninth in the East (in points percentage). And now they might lose their leader. Their hot start never really felt sustainable, but their depth was their guard against a crash. They have maintained cabin pressure without Bertuzzi, Vrana, Fabbri and Zadina.
But without Larkin? Whew, boy. The Wings will be hanging by a thread.
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