Larkin Returns a Star as Wings Down the Senators 5-3!

Well, what a way to make an entrance. Our captain Dylan Larkin missed all of Training Camp, the preseason, and the first two games of the regular season, and when he first hit the ice and touched the puck he was booed repeatedly — only to turn around and put on a show, scoring in the first period, adding an assist, and skating off as the game's first star. The Wings got rolling early: Tim Stutzle beat John Gibson at the 2:44 mark, but Alex DeBrincat answered just 32 seconds later with his first of the season, Larkin buried a Viktor Arvidsson feed at 13:14, and Arvidsson kept it going with a goal just 2:01 into the second. Justin Faulk added a highlight-reel tally, weaving through Ottawa and beating Samuel Ersson while falling to the ice. DeBrincat capped it with an empty-netter to make it 5-3. There was grit, too — Ben Chiarot, Emmitt Finnie, and DeBrincat all dropped the gloves, and William Wallinder made his NHL debut on the blue line. Gibson stopped 21. We're back at Little Caesars Arena on Friday against the visiting Kraken.