The Detroit Red Wings will miss the postseason for the first time in 25 years, but there is at least one bright light as their playoff streak comes to a close.
Sophomore forward Dylan Larkin, among last year's top rookies after finishing with 45 points, has finally rediscovered his offensive touch after struggling to score through much of the season:
| Date Range | Games | G | A | P | P/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct - Feb | 59 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 0.32 |
| Mar | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0.89 |
Second-year slumps aren't uncommon. Just ask Arizona's Anthony Duclair, who finished in the top 10 in Rookie of the Year voting last season, only for his production to dry up in 2016-17, where he's collected just 10 points and even saw a stint in the minors. Or Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon, who won the Calder Trophy in 2014 with 63 points, but hasn't matched that total in his three following campaigns.
Larkin's uptick in offense lines up with his move to center, his junior position. He played wing in his freshman year and has spent most of this season playing the left side, but the organization projects him as a pivot long term. That has seen coach Jeff Blashill pair Larkin as the center to rookie Andreas Athanasiou, who he credits in part for his late-season turnaround.
"Playing with a guy like Andreas is huge," Larkin told Helene St. James of the Detroit Fress Press. "It makes myself, as a centerman, worry less about how we are going to get up the ice. In the Colorado game, a few times, I just threw it to his wing, where he was flying. You know he is going to get the puck in the other zone and then we are going to have chances to play offense."
Larkin recorded a goal and an assist against the Avalanche on Saturday.
As for the Red Wings, they'll sit out the playoffs for the first time since 1990, but with Larkin, alongside Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha, and a host of other emerging talents charged with leading the next wave, Detroit can't overlook the value in its young star regaining his scoring punch, and likely his confidence, with the team now looking ahead to its future.
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