Detroit Red Wings team captain Dylan Larkin became the all-time franchise leader in overtime game-winning goals, passing Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov.
Fresh off his performance for Team USA in the Winter Olympics, Detroit Red Wings team captain Dylan Larkin turned in another gold medal-worthy performance on Thursday evening.
Larkin not only scored Detroit's first goal of the game, but he capped the night by scoring the 13th overtime-winning goal of his career.
In doing so, he passed Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov for the most overtime winners in Red Wings franchise history.
However, Larkin kept the focus on his teammates, particularly that of yet another solid performance in the crease by goaltender John Gibson.
“It’s great to get this one, but man, what a performance by John Gibson, picking up where he left off for us," Larkin said. "We just hung in there. We weren’t the sharpest in the first, but our game grew as it went on. I felt like after the second, we played some of our best hockey. Tough to do in this building, weathered the storm and got two huge points.”
"Just hounding pucks, and we slowly started to tilt the ice, and we hung on to pucks down low, and I thought we had more o-zone time than we'd had in a long time," he continued.
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
It's been a whirlwind in the last several days for Larkin, who not only helped Team USA win their first gold medal since 1980 but is now trying to lead the Red Wings to what would be their first postseason berth since his rookie campaign of 2015-16.
He made sure to touch on the meaning behind his big goal and the support he’s felt from his teammates since his triumphant return from Milan.
"I felt good tonight, and it's a lot different than an Olympic gold medal game against Canada, but that goal is huge for our team, and it's been so great being back with the guys," he said. "They've been so great to me since I've been back, and to score that one tonight, it's up there. It feels pretty special."
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.