Detroit finally got into the win column, and Dylan Larkin was right in the middle of it. In his first game of the season, Larkin scored once and added an assist as the Red Wings beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3 on Tuesday.
The night marked a sharp turn from a turbulent offseason for the Detroit forward. Larkin had requested a trade, said he would step down as captain, and then suffered an upper-body injury shortly before training camp opened.
Fans greeted his early shifts with boos, but the noise shifted once Detroit began to solve Ottawa goaltender Samuel Ersson. The Red Wings moved to 1-2-0, while the Senators took their first loss of the year and fell to 2-1-0.
Quick facts
- Dylan Larkin returned with one goal and one assist.
- Alex DeBrincat recorded two goals and an assist for Detroit.
- Lucas Raymond supplied three assists.
- John Gibson stopped 22 shots in Detroit’s first victory.
- Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and William Eklund each posted a goal and an assist for Ottawa.
- Samuel Ersson made 31 saves for the Senators.
Ottawa struck first at 2:44 of the opening period. Stutzle collected the puck in his own zone, got past Axel Sandin-Pellikka, then used Ben Chiarot as a screen before beating Gibson on the blocker side.
Detroit answered 32 seconds later. Nate Danielson fed DeBrincat from near the right side of the net, and DeBrincat finished from the lower portion of the left circle to level the game at 1-1.
Larkin put the Red Wings ahead at 13:14, their first lead of the young season. DeBrincat found Viktor Arvidsson low in the zone, and Arvidsson slipped the puck into the crease for Larkin to finish.
Arvidsson extended the margin early in the second on the power play. He buried the rebound after Larkin’s shot at 2:01, making it 3-1.
Justin Faulk followed with a clean finish at 4:30. William Wallinder sent him away with a long pass through the neutral zone, and Faulk beat Ersson from the high slot to give Detroit a three-goal cushion.
The Senators stayed in the fight through their power play. Batherson converted at 6:08 of the second after taking Eklund’s pass at the left post, lifting an off-speed wrist shot over Gibson’s stick.
Ottawa made the third period uncomfortable when Eklund cut the deficit to one at 10:30. Fabian Zetterlund’s shot bounced off the end boards, and Eklund put the rebound in from a difficult angle.
DeBrincat closed it out with an empty-net power-play goal at 19:10. His second of the game locked down a 5-3 Detroit win and sent Larkin’s return night into the books with two points and a needed result for the Red Wings.
