Dylan Larkin describes his return to action following absence

The Detroit Red Wings got a huge boost to their lineup last night against the Vegas Golden Knights, welcoming back captain Dylan Larkin after he'd missed the past handful of games while dealing with a private family matter. 

And according to the man himself, it felt good to be back with his teammates after the difficult week that was. 

“It was a tough week for me personally,” Larkin said. “I had to be home for a family emergency, had to be with my family. It’s a private matter. I hope everyone can respect myself and my family’s privacy right now during this tough time.”

“It’s hard to put into words right now,” he said. “It really is.”

The Red Wings earned their second straight win, defeating Vegas by a 5-2 final and improving to 6-5-2 on the season. This came on the heels of a 4-3 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday that saw the team battle back to snatch the two points after falling into a 3-1 deficit. Leading goal scorer Tyler Bertuzzi tallied twice, while rookie defenseman Moritz Seider buried his first career goal in the extra session. 

“It was a big win in Buffalo (Saturday); they battled back, it was great to see,” Larkin said. “Bert, that was probably one of the best performances I’ve seen him have and he’s had some special ones. He dominated and I think he carried us to a victory last night and then tonight was just so great to be back on the ice with the guys. Everyone was working so hard. It was just a total team effort.”

The Red Wings are clearly a different team when they have Larkin in the lineup, and the upswing in the team's confidence was noticeable. The same can be said of Bertuzzi, who was ineligible to play in Detroit's setbacks in Montreal and Toronto due to not having received the COVID-19 vaccination. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Larkin said of Bertuzzi. “People like to think of us as just figures and we all know Tyler made his own decision. People think it’s not hard on him. People think it’s not hard on us to live our own lives and make the decisions, but he stuck with it, and he’s come to play every time he’s been in the lineup, and I couldn’t be more proud of him. When he’s been on the ice with us, he battles, he battles for his teammates. He’s one of my best friends. It’s great to see his confidence take off.