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Larkin first Wings rookie picked to NHL All-Star Game since Yzerman |
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Petr Mrazek broke the news to Dylan Larkin that he was an NHL all-star.
“I saw it yesterday before I went to bed on the (NHL.com) website that Larkin was going so I thought he knew,” Mrazek said. “I just told him this morning.
“He asked me what am I talking about? He’s going and he was asking me if it was already on and where did I see it?
“I thought he knew. I just walked in the dressing room and I said ‘Congrats’ and he said, ‘For what?’ So I just told him.”
Larkin is the first Red Wings rookie to be selected to an NHL All-Star Game since Steve Yzerman in 1983-84, and was still trying to grasp the reality of the situation.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Larkin said. “I still can’t really believe it but it’s a great honor and I’ll be able to represent Detroit and the NHL.
“It’s going to be awesome.”
The only other Detroit rookie to be selected to appear in an NHL All-Star Game was defenseman Reed Larson in 1978. Terry Sawchuk (1950), Marcel Pronovost (1950), Glenn Hall (1955) and Norm Ullman (1955) appeared in the NHL All-Star Game as rookies representing the Red Wings back in the era when the NHL All-Stars faced off against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Larkin, who leads all NHL rookies with 14 goals, admitted that he wasn’t even considering the possibility that he’d be picked to participate in the game.
“No,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, I wasn’t thinking about. I don’t think many guys do think about it.
“It’s just you get so caught up in the season, so many games, it’s tough to think about things like that.
“It’s pretty cool but it’s just another event, just another thing that’s happened. The thing about the All-Star Game is it’s based on my play in the past, so it’s cool but I still want more for myself and more for the team this season.”
Miller’s Time
Forward Drew Miller will be back in the Detroit lineup for Thursday’s game at San Jose to launch the club’s four-game West Coast swing, ending a 14-game absence due to a fractured jaw suffered Dec. 3 when checked by Arizona Coyotes defenseman Klas Dahlbeck.
“You try to get back as fast as you can,” Miller said. “I’ll key on the things that are big in my game and be defensively sound and on the penalty kill and get out there and create some energy.
“I’ll find some starting points and let my game go from there.”
When Miller was healthy, Detroit’s penalty killing ranked seventh overall in the NHL with an 83.7 per cent success rate. In the time he’s been injured, the Red Wings’ PK has slumped to 20th in the league, killing at a 79.4 per cent success level.
“I don’t think the guys were doing anything bad,” Miller said. “Sometimes the puck just goes in. The guys stayed pretty true to the system.
“Sometimes they go and sometimes they don’t. So I’m looking forward to getting back and getting the percentage back up to where we want to be.”
Miller might have sought to downplay his role on the PK but Detroit coach Jeff Blashill wasn’t about to let that happen.
“I've said all year, Drew Miller's an elite penalty killer,” Blashill said. “One of the things about the penalty kill is you have to have great killers and part of that is having guys able to make reads in situations.
“The penalty kill puts you in chaotic situations 'cause there's five of them and four of you and you've got to be able to make hockey reads. You can't draw every situation on the board, and he can make great hockey reads. He's got a great defensive stick and he blocks tons of shots. He'll help our penalty kill.
“It doesn't mean that he'll execute every single time but he'll certainly help our penalty kill.”
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