Todd McLellan said Dylan Larkin 'was missing' from the Detroit Red Wings' 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.

Detroit Red Wings Dylan Larkin, Simon Edvinsson, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane & Todd McLellan, March 1, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio.

Todd McLellan said some important players didn’t show up. The Detroit Red Wings were disappointed in their 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday at Little Caesars Arena because they know they should have done better.

Todd McLellan is not concerned about Dylan Larkin heading into the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on Saturday (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+, TVAS-D, FX-CA). Less than 24 hours after the Detroit Red Wings coach called his captain “missing” during a 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday,

The Dylan Larkin importance to the Detroit team is such that when he’s not on top of his game the Red Wings are not on top of theirs. “I can’t beat around the bush — he was missing,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said after the Columbus Blue Jackets downed Detroit 5-2 in the

As poorly as the Detroit Red Wings are performing of late, they are still only two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. Considering Detroit has put up two seven-game winning streaks under coach Todd McLellan,

Coach Todd McLellan was beaming with pride over the decision made by his Detroit Red Wings players on how they wanted to enter Ohio Stadium for Saturday’s Stadium Series game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Todd McLellan said Dylan Larkin 'was missing' from the Detroit Red Wings' 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.

The Dylan Larkin importance to the Detroit team is such that when he’s not on top of his game the Red Wings are not on top of theirs. “I can’t beat around the bush — he was missing,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said after the Columbus Blue Jackets downed Detroit 5-2 in the first game of their ultra-important home-and-home series.

Larkin had no points and no shots in 18:26 Tuesday in a 3-2 victory in Minnesota. He’s played a lot of hockey – five games in eight nights including the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game – and three of those games went to overtime. But McLellan said that’s not an excuse.

Good for Todd McLellan. Because Dylan Larkin needed to hear this ... dressing down his captain after a poor performance in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets — the team that’s right behind them in the wild-card playoff chase.

Two consecutive losses, including Saturday's 5-3 defeat, enabled the Blue Jackets to leapfrog the Wings into the first wild-card position.