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Dylan Larkin Releases A Statement On The Incident That Left Him Knocked Out
Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings returned to the ice last night after being sidelined for over a week due to a harsh cross check that left him motionless. Now, Larkin is shedding light on the illegal hit, expressing the need for the league to do a better job protecting players.
The cross check, delivered by Mathieu Joseph of the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 11, occurred as Larkin was in front of the Sens' net attempting to capitalize on a rebound. Joseph struck him with a shot to the back of the head.
Reflecting on the incident, Larkin mentioned he did nothing to provoke such a reaction from Joseph. He questioned why there was no additional punishment from the NHL, saying,
"This instance, watching it back, I wasn't really doing anything. I just was kind of trying to make a play on the puck, and just standing there really. ...How do you protect yourself? Who's protecting you? There's a lot of (unanswered questions) in our sport right now."
Larkin emphasized his belief that the on-ice officials are doing their best, pointing out,
"It's the message being sent down from the top, what is safe and what's not, and how to discipline it, there's a lot of questions there. And it's kind of scary as a player.
"Watching it back, replaying it in your head, it's pretty scary. There's a lot of emotions there that you kind of replay and you live with and you have to see that."
"Watching it back, replaying it in your head, it's pretty scary. There's a lot of emotions there that you kind of replay and you live with and you have to see that."
The only suspension stemming from that sequence was for David Perron, who received six games for a severe cross check on the Sens' Artem Zub.
Source: Bladeofsteel
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