On Friday, Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin exited the game against the Florida Panthers early after suffering a gruesome leg injury. After the game, head coach Todd McLellan let reporters know that the injury wouldn't have Larkin out long term, but they still had to take a look before giving any concrete answers.
Fortunately, recent updates indicate that Larkin's injury wasn't as severe as it appeared. “He'll need some time to recover," Todd McLellan said at a press conference Saturday. "I can't give you a timeline on that. We'll see how it goes day by day.”
"So, so far we're not talking about year-ending or anything like that. That's a real good sign for him and for our team."
Larkin joins team on road trip
The Red Wings are in the midst of a four game road trip this week. They'll begin their journey tonight against the New Jersey Devils before playing the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars. Larkin won't play tonight against the Devils. Yesterday, the team announced that Larkin will join the Red Wings on the four game road trip, leading many to believe that his injury wouldn't have him out long term.
This news comes as an immense relief to the Red Wings, who are currently battling for their lives in a highly-contested Wild Card race in the Eastern Conference. The Red Wings currently sit at a two point lead for the first Wild Card spot, but are four points away from the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are on the outside looking in. To make matters worse, the Ottawa Senators are starting to heat up, winning a massive 7-4 blowout last night against the Seattle Kraken.
If McLellan's comments are any indication, the Red Wings shouldn't have to worry about Andrew Copp playing the first line center role for very long.
Larkin injury testing Red Wings, depth
Still, whether the team misses Larkin for one game or more, this coming week is the biggest test the Red Wings have faced all season. If they can manage to string together some wins without their captain, they'll set themselves up for success for the rest of the season and beyond. From here, it's on the depth to step up.
Marco Kasper assumes the de facto second line center role, playing alongside Emmitt Finnie and Lucas Raymond. This leaves Andrew Copp on the top line alongside Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. The good news is that the team will have plenty of backup on the back end. Justin Faulk makes his Red Wings debut tonight, while David Perron joins the team in a little over two weeks' time.
As of right now, it appears Larkin will be back sooner than later. It's up to the rest of the team to step up in the meantime.