In January of 2021, Dylan Larkin was named the captain of the Detroit Red Wings. With the franchise trying to restore a winning culture, Larkin is leading the way, and there was no better example of his effort than his game-saving play against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
With the Red Wings trailing the Kings 4-3 and just over a minute left in the third period, Los Angeles forward Viktor Arvidsson had a clean breakaway with an empty net staring him in the face. As Arvidsson was about to slide the puck in and ice the game, Larkin came flying in from behind and dove to knock the puck away.
As it turned out, Larkin's heroic effort was not in vain. The Red Wings were able to work the puck into the Kings' zone, and Oskar Sundqvist tied the game with 40.9 seconds left in regulation.
Ultimately, Phillip Danault won the game for the Kings in overtime, but Larkin was able to secure a point for his team. Red Wings forward David Perron, who scored two goals and assisted on Sundqvist's game-tying tally, said Larkin gave the bench some energy with that play.
"Yeah, it was amazing," Perron said. "We had to come through for him after that, just the boys putting everything on the line. Obviously, you never know, but at the end of the year we might look back at those kinds of plays, and they add up for our group. It was amazing to see."
In his postgame press conference, first-year Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said the play by Larkin was a teaching moment for a relatively young team.
"Awesome. It was an amazing play," he said. "Never gave up on it. I just think it's a good message for everyone."
