It turned out pretty much as the Detroit Red Wings anticipated.
Dylan Larkin avoided a suspension for his illegal hit on T.J. Oshie, so the Wings won’t be without their captain when they host the New York Rangers on Thursday. Larkin missed most of Tuesday’s 3-1 victory at the Washington Capitals after being assessed a five-minute cross-checking penalty, which triggered a game misconduct and a review by the NHL department of player safety.
That body issued its ruling Wednesday: “Detroit’s Dylan Larkin has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for Cross-checking Washington’s T.J. Oshie.”
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Larkin wasn’t available to media afterwards, but coach Derek Lalonde addressed the situation at Capital One Arena.
“It looked like it might be a little bit of a reverse hit, which Oshie is in one of the best in the world at,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “I think he just kind of braced himself, maybe tried to give him a push and his stick rode up. He has no history and obviously it wasn’t malicious. We already lost him for an entire game basically, so hopefully we will have him available for Thursday.”
The Wings were off Wednesday, taking advantage of being home after a five-game road trip that saw them go 4-1.
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 latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.