The Detroit Red Wings will end the first half of the 2023-24 NHL season with a record of 26-18-6. The Ottawa Senators defeated the Red Wings in overtime, 3-2. The Senators are the team who eliminated the Red Wings from the playoffs after a two-game series in February 2023. Brady Tkachuk of the Senators got under the Red Wings’ skin, and the Wings did not respond. This prompted Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman to make many transactions ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.
Fast forward one year, and the Detroit Red Wings are back in the playoffs, this time as a wild card. On the other hand, the Senators are currently last in the Atlantic Division, with 40 points. This is largely due to the arrival of Alex DeBrincat, who inked a four-year, $31.5 million contract this offseason. DeBrincat, a Farmington Hills, Michigan native, has 18 goals and 25 assists in 49 games for the Red Wings. After being picked 39th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, DeBrincat played one year for the Senators, scoring 27 goals and adding 39 assists in 82 games in 2022-23.
The Red Wings and Senators have rapidly emerged as Eastern Conference rivals. This rivalry continues in the 2023-24 season under the names Mathieu Joseph of the Senators and Dylan Larkin of the Red Wings. Joseph and Larkin reconciled following a December confrontation. The power of the strike to Larkin’s head caused him to collapse to the ice, where he lay unmoving. Seeing this, David Perron came to his captain’s assistance, cross-checking Artem Zub, who was not involved in the action. Perron was suspended for six games.
This wasn’t the first time Larkin and Joseph had met. In October 2021, after a hit from behind by Joseph, then of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Larkin punched him in the head. Larkin clearly overreacted due to a neck injury sustained when he was cross-checked by Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars in May 2021. After spending the summer of 2021 in a cervical hard collar, Larkin admitted that he was fortunate to avoid surgery.
Despite the rough play on both teams, the Detroit–Ottawa rivalry has been one-sided in terms of wins and defeats. The Red Wings have gone 2-6-2 versus the Senators over the last ten games. As the Red Wings were rebuilding, Jeff Blashill served as head coach for a period of time. DeBrincat and Larkin may have guided the Red Wings through the rebuild in the first half of the 2023-24 NHL season.
The Red Wings will have their league-mandated “bye-week” following the all-star break. Their first game back after the break will be against the Vancouver Canucks on February 10th. In the meanwhile, the Red Wings will take the week off to prepare for the second half of the 2023-24 NHL season. DeBrincat and Larkin, combined with the signing of Patrick Kane, will attempt to make a playoff push.
