No Word on Larkin Status as Red Wings Depart for Road Trip

Sunday was an off-day for the Detroit Red Wings and the teammate was offering no updates on the status of Dylan Larkin. The Detroit captain was knocked unconcscious in the first period of Saturday’s home-ice loss to Ottawa after taking two shots to the head from behind that were delivered by Senators forward Mathieu Joseph.

Larkin did not return to action in the 5-1 setback. The Red Wings were departing Sunday for a two-game road trip to Dallas and St. Louis and there was no word whether their captain would be joining the team on their journey.

**Medical Update** ⛑️ 🚑
I’m told all scans are negative (clear) for @DetroitRedWings Captain Larkin. No timeframe for his return. #LGRW #HockeyTwitter #HockeyX #Michigan #PureMichigan pic.twitter.com/OhnUqw4yNY

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) December 10, 2023

Former NHL goaltender Kevin Weekes was posting on social media word that Larkin’s post-game medical evaluation went well.

“I’m told all scans are negative (clear) for @DetroitRedWings Captain Larkin,” read the post from Weekes on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. “No timeframe for his return.”

Berggren, Czarnik Joining Red Wings?

The Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL farm club of the Red Wings, were in action Sunday. The Griffins were 3-1 losers to the Toronto Marlies. Interestingly, forwards Jonatan Berggren and Austin Czarnik were both healthy scratches for Grand Rapids. While no official word has been given, that’s leading to speculation that both will be with the Red Wings on the road swing that begins Monday against the Stars.

Grand Rapids recalled forwards Alexandre Doucet and Trenton Bliss and defenseman Antti Tuomisto from the ECHL Toledo Walleye for Sunday’s game. It was Doucet’s AHL debut.

Red Wings Perron Facing Suspension

Also Sunday, NHL Department of Player Safety was announcing that they are offering Red Wings forward David Perron an in-person hearing for cross-checking Ottawa’s Artem Zub. Officials were assessing Perron a five-minute match penalty for attempt to injure Zub after driving his stick into the face of the Senators defenseman.

The last time @NHLPlayerSafety used the "offered an in-person hearing" wording was on Feb. 9, 2022, for a Brad Marchand hit on Tristan Jarry.

Marchand got six games, which is about what I expect for Perron. #LGRW https://t.co/V3hcUTLetf

— Dave Hogg ✨ (@stareagle) December 11, 2023

At the time, Zub was standing directly behind the prone Larkin on the ice. Evidently, Perron was of the mistaken belief that it was Zub who had laid out Larkin.

Generally, league disciplinarians are only offering players in-person hearings when they are considering the issuing of a lengthy suspension.

Compher Status Uncertain

Adding to the woes of the Red Wings, second-line center J.T. Compher was missing from the Detroit lineup the past two games due to an undisclosed injury. His availability for the road trip is also uncertain.

“I don’t know,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said of Compher’s status. “He’s close, he’s close. Ideally with everything going on we could use him but I don’t know. He’s truly day to day.”

It’s entirely possible that the Wings will be playing on this road trip minus their top two centers and three of their top-nine forwards.