The Detroit Red Wings will go into their game against the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Sunday night without their captain, with a new defenseman and losses in their last two contests.
Captain Dylan Larkin went down awkwardly in the third period Friday night in a 3-1 home loss to the Florida Panthers. He appeared to be in severe pain as he skated, slumped over, off the ice.
Coach Todd McLellan said the leg injury does not appear to be serious and did not think Larkin will miss much time. Larkin is accompanying the team on its four-game road trip.
Defenseman Justin Faulk is expected to make his Detroit debut against the Devils on Sunday. He was acquired from the St. Louis Blues on Friday at the trade deadline.
Faulk, who is slated to be paired with Ben Chiarot, has 11 goals and 32 points and a minus-3 rating in 61 games.
The 33-year-old is a 15-season veteran and is the right-handed shooting top-four defenseman hat Detroit has long desired.
The Red Wings, who are in an Eastern Conference playoff position after failing to qualify for the past nine seasons, endured their two recent losses (0-1-1) on home ice.
“We were a little flat tonight, but this is a tough time of year to win games,” Chiarot said after the game Friday night. “Everyone is scraping and clawing. It’s playoff-style hockey down the stretch.”
Detroit recalled Michael Brandsegg-Nygard from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis Saturday. He began the season with the Red Wings but only managed an assist in nine games and was sent to Grand Rapids.
The Red Wings also acquired David Perron from the Ottawa Senators before the trading deadline. Perron, who played for Detroit from 2022-24, is recovering from sports hernia surgery in late January and is expected to be ready to play in a couple of weeks.
The Devils extended their winning streak to four games after their 6-3 home win over the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon.
Olympic hero Jack Hughes led the way with his fourth career hat trick and second this season. He also had an assist.
“We’re healthy,” Hughes said. “We haven’t been healthy since November, so we’re finally healthy. I think guys are confident and when the group starts to roll, everyone’s feeling good about their game, the group’s feeling better about themselves. I think we’re in a good groove right now but it’s all about just being present, staying in the moment and keeping at it.”
Jesper Bratt collected a goal and two assists while captain Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer also scored. Connor Brown and defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic each notched two assists.
Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves for New Jersey, which went 3-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
“Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t, but I think what the difference on the power play is we’re making more right decisions,” Hischier said. “Obviously when you make more right decisions on the power play, you give yourself more chances to score goals and that’s the biggest difference.”
Defenseman Luke Hughes, Jack’s brother, picked up his 100th career assist.
