Dylan Larkin's Playing The Best Hockey Of His Career

Since Todd McLellan took over on December 26th, the Detroit Red Wings are the hottest team in hockey. The Wings have gone 15-4-1 under McLellan, a .775 points percentage which is tied for best in the league during that timeframe. They’ve clawed their way firmly back into the playoff race and are in position to end their eight-year playoff drought.

A big reason for that? Dylan Larkin, Detroit’s captain, heart, and motor, is playing the best hockey of his career.

In the 20 games under McLellan, Larkin has registered 11 goals and 24 points, won 54.4% of his faceoffs, and has a 52.9% 5v5 xGF%. The 24 points represent the 2nd most points Larkin’s recorded in a distinct 20-game stretch in his career, behind only a 20-game stretch in 2021-2022 where Larkin recorded 14 goals and 28 points. Digging in a bit deeper, we see that Larkin has filled up the box score at an impressive clip.

Essentially, Larkin ranks toward the top of the league in most key box score statistics. What’s most interesting is how much Larkin is shooting the puck. Larkin’s averaging 4.5 shots on goal per game and more than 0.7 expected goals per game. He’s taking a lot of shots from high quality locations, a testament to the Red Wings power play and how well his line is playing at even strength.

With respect to that top line, McLellan has pushed a lot of the right buttons with this team and one that has stood out is moving rookie Marco Kasper up to the top line to play with Larkin and Lucas Raymond.

Using data from Evolving-Hockey, we see that that line ranks 12th in the league in 5v5 xGF/60, indicating that they are generating a high number of quality chances. When they’re on the ice at 5v5, the Wings are obtaining 55.24% of the expected goals and nearly 59% of the goals. This has helped the Wings survive the regression of their power play in recent games.

Larkin has been the heart and soul of this Wings team ever since the retirement of Henrik Zetterberg. He’s embodied what it means to be the captain of the Red Wings, carrying on the great tradition from Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Steve Yzerman. And right now, we’re seeing him play the best hockey of his career, carrying this Red Wings back into the playoff race. Gone are the questions of if he’s a true “1C”. Now I get to post fun graphs showing that he’s been one of the top-5 forwards in the NHL since McLellan took over (data via HockeyStatCards).