After being shoved from behind by Joseph and colliding head-first into Parker Kelly, Larkin has been placed on injured reserve and will miss at least a week of action.
It's undoubtedly one of the NHL weekend's most talked-about and hotly-debated moments.
During the Ottawa Senators' 5-1 win in Detroit on Saturday night, Wings' captain Dylan Larkin was knocked out cold after an incident in front of Ottawa's net. With the puck at his feet, Larkin's neck and head were shoved from behind by Joseph, who was trying to prevent a scoring chance during a goal-mouth scramble. Larkin's momentum from the shove carried him forward, and he collided head-first into Parker Kelly, who had just arrived to help defend.
After reviewing the play, the initial five-minute major to Joseph was changed to a two-minute roughing minor for both Joseph and Kelly, confirming there was no stick work involved.
Joseph talked about the incident after Monday's practice.
"It happened so fast," Joseph said. "You're on a penalty kill. You see a guy, and the puck is right there. You're just trying to box him out in front of your net.
"It's such a fast game, and you're not trying to hurt anybody out there. You're just trying to play hard. The last time (in a earlier clash between Joseph and Larkin back in 2021) we talked after that game, and we both apologized...We're all competitors out there, and we're just trying to win."
After the game, Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde spoke at length about his concern for Larkin and also praised the officials.
"Considering the circumstances, I thought both refs handled (the incident) extremely well," Lalonde said.
On Monday, Lalonde gave an update on Larkin, saying he'll be out for at least a week.
The Wings not only lost their captain for the foreseeable future, but they're also about to lose David Perron, who skated up to Sens defenceman Artem Zub right after the incident and viciously cross-checked him in the side of the head.
Perron was lucky he didn't add to Larkin's injuries. He chose to attack Zub, who had done nothing, even though Zub was standing very close to his unconscious teammate. Perron's skate collided with Larkin's skate, moving his body slightly. Fortunately, with Zub falling away from Larkin, that was the only contact.
Perron will get a minimum five-game suspension, pending an in-person hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on a date to be determined.
Despite Perron's actions, the Wings kept coming for Joseph, who later accepted a fight off the draw against Christian Fischer. There were plenty of swings, but neither player landed much before falling to the ice.
While his coach praised the officials, Fischer was surprised by their verdict.
"I know they looked at it, but how we ended up with a three-minute kill at the end of that whole ordeal, I don't think any of us would have expected that," Fischer told the media on Saturday night.