Dylan Larkin has been to a lot of places and seen a lot of things recently, but the puck in the back of the net has not been one of them.
Until Monday.
Larkin, the top pick of Detroit's last June (15th overall), made his second pro game a memorable one as he scored back-to-back goals in the first period to get the Grand Rapids Griffins started in a 4-2 win against Utica to even the Western Conference finals at 1-1.
The series resumes Thursday at Grand Rapids.
Larkin was the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year at Michigan, then headed to the Czech Republic for the IIHF World Championships before he returned and signed a pro contract on Thursday and joined the Griffins for the tip to Utica.