**UPDATE** Dylan Larkin will play for Detroit. Luke Glendening (flu) is out.
Forwards Dylan Larkin and Luke Glendening will be game-time decisions as the Detroit Red Wings prepared to face the Minnesota Wild Monday.
Rookie sensation Larkin, who leads the team with 13 goals but missed his first game as an NHL Saturday when the Wings beat Nashville 3-2 due to an undisclosed upper body injury that he said was not concussion-related, feels he could play, but understands that the final decision is not his to make.
“I don’t know yet,… Larkin said after Monday’s morning skate. “I still have to talk to (athletic therapist) Piet (Van Zant) and Blash (coach Jeff Blashill). “We’ll see.
“After practicing twice I feel like I can do that.…
Larkin sensed improvement as he skated Monday.
“I felt good,… he said. “I’m definitely seeing progress. That’s the good news.…
He doesn’t think his ailment would impact his ability to have an impact on the ice were he to suit up.
“The way I play, I don’t see it holding me back,… Larkin said.
Center Glendening did not skate Monday morning.
“Glendening is sick right now so we’re going to see tonight if he’s ready to play or not,… said Blashill, who felt that Larkin was close to being able to answer the bell.
“Larks looked like he was ready but until I know for sure and he comes back tonight and feels the same as he did today … so he could definitely be in but we’re going to wait and see where he’s at tonight.…
Tangradi Recalled The Wings added some beef to their front line with the recall of 6-4, 233-pound left-winger Eric Tangradi from their AHL farm club in Grand Rapids.
The journeyman pro who’s had previous NHL stops in Pittsburgh, Winnipeg and Montreal, producing five goals in 143 games, Tangradi’s held a hot hand with Grand Rapids this season.
“He brings a different element than what we have with that size,… Blashill acknowledged. “We’d like to add that element, too. At the very least it gives us a chance to look at him. We’ll see if he gets in.…
In 24 games with the Griffins, Tangradi, 26, leads the team and is tied for fifth in the AHL with 13 goals. He also ranks second on the club with 22 points, three power-play goals and 59 shots on goal. He saw his eight-game points streak (8-4-12) come to an end Sunday against Lake Erie.
“I think early on in my career I put a lot of pressure on myself,… said Tangradi, who was selected 47th overall by Anaheim in the 2007 NHL entry draft. “I played a couple of seasons in the NHL but was never really able to get my foot in the door.
“I think the difference this year is I’ve been a lot more relaxed and more calm, kind of in a nothing to lose mentality as far as just playing the right way and playing simple down there. If good things happen, great. If not, I’ll just keep plugging away down there.…
Blashill indicated that the Wings have had their eyes on Tangradi all season long.
“He’s had an impact since the beginning of the season,… Blashill said. “Even when they struggled he was the one guy that (assistant GM) Ryan Martin and (GM) Ken Holland and (Grand Rapids coach) Todd Nelson kept telling me was consistently real good. He is physical at times.
“He’s been around, he knows how to play. He’s looking for more opportunity, that’s one of the reasons he signed here and we signed him.…
The success of the Detroit organization was what drew Tangradi to put his name on the dotted line with the Wings.
“I kind of looked at different things,… Tangradi said. “I played in the American Hockey League last year (with the Hamilton Bulldogs), kind of on a team that winning wasn’t the No. 1 priority at certain times. When I got the call from Detroit and thought about what things could be like in Grand Rapids – it’s a winning culture, a winning organization.
“I have some faith in myself that I can play in the NHL and I knew this would be a great organization for me to try to prepare me to get back to that opportunity.…
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