The Detroit Red Wings, who are back in action on Friday evening against the Florida Panthers, have released positive injury news on a pair of key players.
Back at practice on Thursday afternoon at the BELFOR Training Center inside of Little Caesars Arena, the Detroit Red Wings welcomed goaltender John Gibson back to the ice for the first time since his injury on Monday afternoon against the Nashville Predators.
Gibson, who suffered a "stinger" on the arm, wasn't able to dress for Wednesday evening's tilt against the Vegas Golden Knights, necessitating a call-up of 2021 first-round pick (15th overall) Sebastian Cossa from the surging Grand Rapids Griffins.
While Cossa was on the ice working with goaltending coach Michael Leighton on Thursday, he was later reassigned to the Griffins.
"I haven't gone into the trainer's room, but he looked really good in practice," head coach Todd McLellan said of Gibson. "There were a number of times when I went by, and he said, 'I feel great', so I'm assuming he's ready to go."
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Late in regulation of Wednesday's tilt, which ultimately resulted in a 4-3 Golden Knights overtime win, team captain Dylan Larkin took a vicious cross-check from Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb and collapsed to the ice.
He was down for several seconds before eventually making his way back to the bench, albeit very slowly and hunched over. While he immediately went to the dressing room, he was able to return for a shift during overtime.
Neither Larkin nor fellow center Andrew Copp was present at practice, but according to McLellan, both players were off due to maintenance days and will play on Friday.
"He's doing good, getting a maintenance day, both him and Copper," McLellan said of Larkin. "Both have maintenance days; it's that time of year. Bumps and bruises all over the place, he'll be ready to play tomorrow."
Thankfully, there are no lingering effects of the cross-check to his back from Wednesday's game.
"He's sore, but there's no damage or anything like that," McLellan said. "He should be good."
Larkin has suffered numerous injuries over the years as opposing players have taken liberties against him. In April 2021, he sustained a season-ending injury after being cross-checked from behind in the neck by Jamie Benn, the captain of the Dallas Stars. The injury required him to wear a cervical hard collar for eight weeks.
In December 2023, Larkin was cross-checked in the back of the head and neck by Mathieu Joseph of the Ottawa Senators, the same player who sent him crashing into the boards from behind in October 2021 while with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Larkin lay motionless on the ice for several minutes in what was nothing short of a frightening scene.
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