TLDR: Dylan Larkin asked out of Detroit, lost the captaincy, got booed at his own rink, then came back and led a win anyway. Friday, October 9, the Seattle Kraken get to find out which version of the Red Wings they're dealing with.
Seattle (2-2-0) visits Detroit after a lopsided split: 2 blowouts of Calgary and 2 clear losses to Edmonton and Vegas. Detroit got its first win of the season in Dylan Larkin's return, against a tired, short-handed Ottawa, while his trade request and the boos from the home crowd are still hanging over the team. The game comes down to whether Larkin's return makes Detroit better than it showed in its first 2 games, and whether Seattle can beat anyone other than Calgary.
−Ottawa win came against a back-to-back, backup-goalie team
−Larkin trade request still unresolved
Detroit is the most interesting mess in the league right now. Larkin, the club's No. 1 center, requested a trade after last season, gave up the captaincy, and started this one on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. When he was introduced with the scratches at Little Caesars Arena, the crowd booed him. The Red Wings dropped their first 2 games without him. His season debut was the 5-3 win over Ottawa that ended that skid. Detroit scored twice in each of the first 2 periods, then answered after Ottawa pulled within 1 in the 3rd.
Put that Ottawa win in context, though. The Senators were on the second night of a back-to-back, with Linus Ullmark out, Samuel Ersson in net and Jake Sanderson still sidelined. A rested Detroit team with its top center back beating a tired, short-handed opponent tells you Larkin helps. It doesn't tell you the Wings have sorted themselves out. The trade request also hasn't gone away. He'd only accept a move to Florida, Minnesota or Vegas, so every shift he plays in Detroit doubles as an audition.
Seattle has its own does-it-count problem. The Kraken are 2-2-0, and both wins were 6-1 routs of Calgary. Edmonton held them to 1 goal in a 3-1 loss, and Vegas was up 5-0 after 2 periods before winning 6-2 in Seattle. Tomas Hertl scored twice in that one. Our own recap came away saying the Calgary wins told you more about Calgary than about the Kraken, and nothing since has changed that.
The scoring has been spread around when it shows up. Early in the year, Mackie Samoskevich had 2 goals, Jared McCann had 4 assists without a goal of his own, and Jordan Eberle had 3 points. Against Edmonton and Vegas, that depth didn't add up to much. Friday's game is in a building where the fans have plenty to say about the home team, which gives Seattle an opening: score first and the crowd might turn on the Wings.
Seattle's blue line is worth watching. Ryan Lindgren is day-to-day, Jacob Melanson is on IR with an upper-body injury, and Jake O'Brien is on non-roster IR with a lower-body injury. If Lindgren can't go, that's a real hole on defense against a Detroit lineup that just got its top center back. Puck drop is 7:00 PM ET, and these two meet again October 20 in Seattle, so whoever wins Friday will have something to bring up 11 days later.
Larkin's Red Wings Host a Kraken Team Still Proving Itself | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush
