Dylan Larkin rips into teammates as Red Wings slump to four-game losing streak

Captain Dylan Larkin and the Detroit Red Wings are going through a challenging season, marked by Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets that stretched their losing streak to four games. Larkin's guidance is crucial for navigating this critical phase, and the center asserted that only one solution exists for Detroit to emerge from this downturn.

After the Jets game, Dylan Larkin addressed the media and said:

"We’re trying but it’s not clicking right now. The offense isn’t clicking and you can’t win hockey games playing D like that. We just defended so poorly. ... We lost our D zone coverage. We’ve been struggling with that of late. They exposed us tonight. We hung Reims (goalie James Reimer) out to dry with back doors and extended O-zone shifts for Winnipeg.

"We’ve really tried it all in the past couple of weeks – different line combinations, different coaching. Coming in and being hard, trying to pump us up, whatever it is. But it’s gotta come from within the room.

"Every guy’s gotta be better. That sounds like a cliche, but tonight, it was very apparent that every guy needs to be better."

Detroit's goalie James Reimer, making a season-best 36 saves, played a pivotal role in the team's performance (15-13-4; 34 points) despite being outshot 41-28 by Winnipeg (19-9-3; 41 points).

After the Jets opened the scoring at 15:38 of the first period, Detroit found itself trailing 1-0 at the first intermission.

Olli Maatta tied the game at 1:44 of the second period, taking a cross-ice pass from Patrick Kane and firing a shot over Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit's shoulder. Andrew Copp assisted Maatta's first goal of the season.

Winnipeg seized control with three consecutive goals in an 8:29 span, establishing a 4-1 lead before the second intermission.

Patrick Kane reduced the Red Wings' deficit to 4-2 with a goal 11:19 into the third period with assists from Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider.

Winnipeg held on for a 5-2 final after scoring at 15:12. Detroit, finishing 0-for-2 on the power play, played its first penalty-free game since Jan. 19 in Vegas.

Coach Derek Lalonde addressed the media after Wednesday's loss against the Jets.

"I liked our start," Lalonde said. "Felt a little unfortunate to be down 1-0. Liked the start of our second. We get it back to 1-1, then they had a little push and then we had a really poor end of the second. And that’s that lapse.

"It’s frustrating in that there’s some good moments. But it’s these lapses where we just break down, and everything is ending up with some easy offense against us."

(Timestamp 4:52 - 5:10)

Coach Lalonde was also asked about star player Patrick Kane, who has six points in his first eight games:

"He's been producing some offense. You like to see him finish. Obviously, the two points tonight. I think that's a good sign going forward."

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Dylan Larkins' 2023-24 NHL season so far

In the 2022-23 season, Dylan Larkin achieved a career-best with 79 points (32 goals, 47 assists) in 80 games, securing his second consecutive All-Star appearance and the third of his career.

In the 2023-24 season, the 27-year-old star forward has appeared in 26 games for the Red Wings and tallied 27 points on 16 assists and 11 goals.

On March 1, Dylan Larkin inked an eight-year contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings, worth $69.6 million, boasting an annual average salary of $8.7 million.

The Red Wings are fourth in the NHL Atlantic Division, with a record of 15-12-4 for the 2023-24 season.

Next Game on Deck: Before the NHL's annual holiday break, the Red Wings have a back-to-back, beginning with a Friday night matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers at Little Caesars Arena.