The Detroit Red Wings will play the next seven or eight games without captain Dylan Larkin, who suffered a lower body injury in the loss to the Florida Panthers.

Coach Derek Lalonde expects Larkin to be sidelined two weeks. “Probably have a better feel of his progress after the road trip,” Lalonde said.

The plan, for now, is to use Joe Veleno playing between Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. He will also get Larkin’s penalty killing time. Andrew Copp practiced with the power play.

“It’s probably going to be more minutes for Joe,” Lalonde said. “We slotted Joe between Cat and Kane today. Last time Dylan was out, Joe got into that 18 to 20 range, even got 21 one night. Probably increased minutes for the whole group. Good challenge for us. Everyone goes through injuries. We didn’t handle it very well last time Dylan was out. I think we’ll respond a little better this time around.”

Veleno Promoted

Lalonde said he’s going with Veleno in that spot because of his slick skating.

“Pace. He can skate,” Lalonde said. “You see when someone can have success with Cat and Kane, they just work better when someone is providing some pace for them. That was Dylan, and Joe has that ability to do so as well.”

Klim Kostin will draw into the lineup up front.  Or, Lalonde will go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen  as the Red Wings start a four-game road trip Wednesday in Colorado.  Justin Holl comes in if the Red Wings go with seven defensemen. They will probably call up someone from Grand Rapids for the trip.

“Very comfortable with the 12 forwards we skated with in the practice today,” Lalonde said. “We wouldn’t be calling anyone up to go in the lineup, at least not yet. Probably a day to day type of feel.”

This is a challenging loss for the Red Wings to overcome. Although Detroit has  improved depth, Larkin drives the bus as team leader. The team is 2-4 without him this season.

Players Understand the Challenge

“He’s great down the middle,” Lalonde said. “By far our most minutes guy. One of the only guys who plays in all three situations — five-on-five, penalty kill and power play. He’s a driver for us. These are the bumps. If you want to stay in that battle, get over the line, you got to fight through some of these things, and this is our opportunity on this road trip.”

Lalonde thinks the Red Wings are in a better position to handle Larkin’s absence this time because of improved depth.

“When Dylan was out last time we were out two goalies,” Lalonde said, “we were out J.T. Compher, we were out David Perron, so we’ve been fortunate with our depth all year long and this will be tested again, and I’m confident in the group.”

Lalonde doesn’t need to address the team about what needs to be done in Larkin’s absence. They know the score. Eight games is two-fifths of the team’s remaining games.

“That’s a lot of games. We’re going to be battling,” Lalonde said. “Our message to the guys, all along if we were every going to stay in this fight, stay in this battle right until the end, everything is going to be difficult. At times it did feel difficult. Of course, we’re in it now.”

The post Larkin Out Two Weeks With Lower Body Injury; Veleno Moves Up appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The Detroit Red Wings provided no post-game update about Patrick Kane after he suffered a lower body injury in the first period of their 4-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Coach Derek Lalonde said during his post-game that he didn’t know whether Kane would be available to play Wednesday on the road against the Florida Panthers.

“No idea,” Lalonde said. “Honestly have not heard back. I’m not trying to be coy at all, I have not heard anything from our medical staff.”

Lalonde did say he did not believe the injury was related to his offseason hip surgery, but couldn’t be sure of that because he didn’t have all of the medical information. The Red Wings should have more information today, although they are scheduled to fly to Florida today.

Kane played one minute and seven seconds in the  first period before being forced out of the game with the undisclosed injury. He took a hit from forward Pontus Holmberg at 3:21 of the first period and then a short time later went tumbling into the boards while checking Holmberg at Detroit’s goalmouth.

Patrick Kane will not return…these two plays happened right before he left https://t.co/2iXIfuWpcH

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 15, 2024

The Red Wings signed Kane on Nov. 29, and he has made the Red Wings offense more dangerous. He had a goal and an assist Saturday in a win against the Los Angeles Kings.  He has 16 points in 19 games. Kane has shown impressive chemistry with Alex DeBrincat who was his linemate when they were together with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Detroit players have learned to count on Patrick Kane’s stickhandling ability to bring the puck into the offensive zone. He has been a catalyst on the power play. Losing him would be a significant loss, like it was against Toronto.

“That was tough adversity, too, especially the way our lines have been rolling here,” Lalonde said. “We’ve had some rhythm with our lines… I think guys responded well. I think we have a comfort level playing 11 and 7, so I don’t think it was anything new for the guys. We did a pretty good job with it.”

The Red Wings are headed to Florida today to play the Panthers on Wednesday. They will complete the three-game trip with a game at Carolina. The Red Wings currently hold one of the Eastern Conference’s two wild card spots. The Red Wings have not qualified for the playoffs in seven years.

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