The NHL Department of Player Safety slapped Dylan Larkin with a one-game suspension for an incident the Detroit Red Wings argue needn’t have happened.
The Wings host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. This is the first time in his 433-game career Larkin has been suspended.
It has been a turbulent start to the season for Larkin: His night in Thursday’s season opener began with a captains ceremony that included Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg — and ended an injury and an ejection. The league punished Larkin for punching Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph in the head, which the Wings note Larkin did because the last time somebody pushed him in the back of the neck, the offender went unscathed and Larkin went to the hospital.