BOSTON — Dylan Larkin’s absence from the Detroit Red Wings lineup is stretching toward a week as they continue their road trip without their captain.
Coach Jeff Blashill said Thursday morning Larkin “is away for personal reasons, and I’ll leave it at that.” The Wings face their third game of the trip with an evening match against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Pressed whether Larkin, who has not been seen on the ice with teammates since the Oct. 30 game at Toronto, has been skating, Blashill repeated his answer: “It’s the same exact comment that I had the other day. Right now he’s away for personal reasons and I’ll leave it at that.”
The Wings had a day off Sunday in Montreal. On Monday, Blashill said Larkin did not practice because it was a “maintenance day.” The Wings played the Canadiens Tuesday.
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Larkin centers the top line, and has three goals and five assists in eight games.
Larkin is coming off a neck injury suffered in April that left him hospitalized overnight and in a neck halo for eight weeks. He sustained a hit in the opening game and missed a game serving a suspension for retaliating. Larkin played the next seven games and averaged north of 21 minutes in his last two appearances.
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The trip concludes Saturday at Buffalo. The Wings host the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.