- Dylan Larkin spoke for the first time about the boos from Red Wings fans
- He scored and was named first star in Detroit’s 5-3 win over Ottawa
- Read below for his full postgame comments and the video
Dylan Larkin isn’t hiding from the boos.
The Red Wings center was asked after Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators about the reception he got from fans at Little Caesars Arena. He didn’t push back on any of it.
“It’s part of it,” Larkin said. “I’m trying to be a man and face it. I understand why that’s happening. But like I said at the start of the season, I was going to try to show up with my play.”
Watch Larkin’s full postgame media availability:
Fans let him have it from his very first shift, and it got louder whenever he touched the puck. Then Larkin scored at 13:14 of the first period to give Detroit its first lead of the season, and a lot of the building got up and cheered.
His celebration was about as muted as you’ll ever see from him. Larkin explained why he held back on the goal.
“I don’t want to offend anyone with over-celebrating, knowing the situation that’s going on,” he said. “But with all that, scoring a goal in the NHL, scoring a goal for this team, when we needed it, it felt pretty good.”
Tuesday was his season debut after an upper-body injury kept him out of the preseason and Detroit’s first two games. It was also his first game since asking the Red Wings for a trade in June. The club took the captaincy away from him in September, and fans booed him during the home opener introductions on Friday while he sat out.
We put his answer on a graphic Wednesday morning:
Larkin added an assist on Viktor Arvidsson’s power-play goal in the second period and was named the game’s first star. He was also in the middle of the late second-period scrum after Ridly Greig’s hit on Alex DeBrincat.
“The pack mentality, the good teams do it, and you need it,” Larkin said of the brawl. “It didn’t go well for me, but it was nice to see the four other guys in there when I got up.”
Ottawa’s Nick Cousins made sure the night didn’t end quietly. As Larkin left the ice after the second, Cousins pointed to the spot on his chest where the C used to be:
Larkin was asked about the chirp after the game. “You can only imagine what he was saying,” he said.
Larkin also talked about what it felt like to be back in the room, trade request or not.
“There’s a lot of people in here that I love deeply and mean a lot to me and my career,” he said. “It’s pretty emotional coming back in.”
No trade has come together, and the request is still in place. Until something changes, Larkin will keep hearing it from the Little Caesars Arena crowd, and keep trying to answer with his play.
