When Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin was a kid, his grandmother would spot him five bucks every time he lit a red lamp behind the other team’s net.
Without a goal and with his grandma in attendance, Larkin netted his first two tallies of the season during Detroit’s 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena.
Larkin is off the snide but grandmamma is off the hook for the fin.
“I’m not going to take her money,… Larkin joked. “It was pretty cool that I was able to score when she was in the building.
“She did say she wanted three, so I was one short.…
Just getting one was a relief for Larkin, Detroit’s leading goal scorer last season with 23 but staring down a goose egg next to his name in the goal column through six games.
Larkin’s first was a thing of beauty, taking a long feed from captain Henrik Zetterberg in stride as his snuck behind the Hurricanes defense, then beating Carolina goalie Cam Ward with a nifty backhand move.
“It was a good feeling,… Larkin said. “I guess a sigh of relief. I was thinking about it a lot and it was a nice pass from Z to send me on a breakaway.
“I got my head up and saw that side of the net was open. It was a good feeling definitely.…
The Wings viewed it simply as a sign of things to come.
“I thought he’s had some good looks all year but the puck hadn’t gone in,… Zetterberg said.
Added forward Steve Ott: “We’re going to need him. He’s a powerhouse for this team and a big time offensive threat.
“When he’s skating like he does and also now he’s off the handle. It’s good to see. He’s going to continue to get better every single night. You know he’s going to have effective scoring chances. He’s a very solid threat.… AA Again Speaking of coming attractions, Andreas Athanasiou scored for the second straight game, finding some open ice in the slot and wiring a late second-period goal off a feed from Luke Glendening to make it 4-2.
“Glenny finding him in the slot, and AA with a heck of a release bar down, that’s what I think the Detroit people are going to see a lot of for a lot of years, that kid scoring goals,… Ott said.
Five Alive Detroit won for the fifth straight game, the club’s longest winning streak since a six-game run of success from Jan. 13-27, 2015 and the Wings also improved to 4-0 at the JLA. But according to the captain, there’s miles to go before they can rest on their laurels.
“We found a way to win,… Zetterberg said. “I don’t think it was a pretty game for us. We got a little sloppy here and there but we scored goals and Petr (Mrazek) was good in net.
“We’ve got a long way left. We’ve got things we can improve on but we’re happy we’re getting the two points. Tonight probably could have gone either way.…
Stepping Up When Carolina forward Victor Stalberg boarded Wings defenseman Mike Green behind the Detroit net in the third period, Ott was quick to set out after Stalberg and soon was joined by the rest of his teammates.
“I thought Greener was a little bit vulnerable in that position,… Ott said. “I think collectively we all have the same response in this dressing room. We try to take care of each other as best as possible on the ice.
“It’s early in the season but those things through 82 games, you want to get them stalled as quickly as possible and be known as a team that sticks up for each other as well.
“Team toughness I think is way tougher than any individual guy that can go out there and fight and hit or whatever. When you have a collective unit that goes and pressures and if there’s one guy in, there’s five guys in and tough by numbers, that makes for a dangerous team.
“It just shows the respect we have for each other in the dressing room.…
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