February 28, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) takes a shot during the second period of a game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Image The Detroit Red Wings will enter Sunday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils in Newark without their captain, with a new defenseman, and with losses in their last two games.
Captain Dylan Larkin went down awkwardly in the third period Friday night in a 3-1 home loss to the Florida Panthers. He seemed to be in severe pain when skating on the ice or falling.
Coach Todd MacLellan said the leg injury does not appear to be serious and he does not think Larkin will miss much time. Larkin went on a four-game road trip with the team.
Defenseman Justin Faulk is expected to make his Detroit debut Sunday against the Devils. He was acquired from the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline on Friday.
Faulk, who will be paired with Ben Chiarot, has 11 goals, 32 points and a minus-3 rating in 61 games.
The 33-year-old is a 15-season veteran and the right-handed shooting top four defenseman that Detroit has long wanted.
The Red Wings, who have failed to advance to the finals for the past nine seasons and are competing for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, have recently suffered two losses (0-1-1) on home ice.
“We were a little down tonight, but it’s hard to win games this year,” Chiarot said after Friday night’s game. “Everyone is scratching and clawing. It’s playoff-style hockey all the way.”
Detroit emergency recalled Michael Brandsegg-Nygard from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on Saturday. He started the season with the Red Wings, but recorded an assist in only nine games and was sent down to Grand Rapids.
The Red Wings also acquired David Perron from the Ottawa Senators before the trade deadline. Perron, who played for Detroit from 2022-24, is recovering from sports hernia surgery in late January and is expected to be ready to play within a few weeks.
The Devils extended their winning streak to four games after a 6-3 home win over the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon.
Olympic hero Jack Hughes leads the way with his fourth hat trick of his career and second of the season. He also had an assist.
“We are healthy,” Hughes said. “I haven’t been healthy since November and I’m finally feeling healthy. The guys are confident and when the group starts, everyone feels good about their game and the group feels good about themselves. I think we’re in good shape right now, but it’s just about being in the moment, staying in the moment and maintaining it.”
Jesper Bratt had a goal and two assists, while captain Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer also scored. Connor Brown and defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic each had two assists.
Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves for New Jersey, going 3-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
“Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t, but I think the difference on the power play is that we make better decisions,” Hischier said. “Obviously when you make better decisions on the power play, you have more opportunities to score goals and that’s the biggest difference.”
Jack’s older brother, defenseman Luke Hughes, recorded his 100th career assist.
–Field level media
