“It’s been real impressive and I think on a consistent basis, he’s been a real good player,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “He gets lots of ice time with it, too, so there’s lots of responsibility on him, and he understands that and bears that burden.

“I don’t think there’s any question that Dylan has taken huge steps towards being that good, all-around centerman that you have to be to be a successful hockey team. He’s a huge building block for this team because of it. If all you do is score points, you’re not a building block. If you score points and play defense, now you’re a building block.”

Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press has more on Larkin.

Don't forget, 3:00pm ET game today in Chicago.