Dylan Larkin isn't ducking it. The Red Wings forward says he understands why Detroit fans are booing him, and he's choosing to stand right in it.
"I'm trying to be a man and face it." That's how he framed playing through the boos coming from his own fan base.
He didn't stop at the soundbite. He said he gets why Wings fans are upset, but the job hasn't changed: show up, let his play do the talking, and help the team win.
Here's the awkward part. He answered the noise last night with a goal and an assist in a 5-3 win over Ottawa.
The forward fired four shots on goal and picked up a power-play assist. He also logged 20:41, the heaviest workload of any Detroit forward on the night.
So the fans boo, and the guy keeps getting the biggest minutes up front. The bench clearly isn't wavering, even if the crowd hasn't come around.
It was also his first game of the season. Larkin dressed for just one of Detroit's three games, and the Red Wings went 0-2 in the two he missed.
Red Wings' rough home start puts Detroit's highest-paid player under the lights
Those first two nights were ugly. A 2-0 loss to the Rangers and a 3-2 loss to Winnipeg, both at home, with two goals total to show for it.
Detroit sits 1-2-0, 26th overall and dead last in its division. Three games is a tiny sample. Fans in this market clearly aren't grading on a curve.
Then there's the money. Larkin carries an $8,700,000 cap hit, the biggest on the roster, ahead of both Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.
When you're paid like the centerpiece, you don't get to pick which nights the building is on your side. The 30-year-old seems to know that better than anyone.
It's a bit like the restaurant owner who walks out to the table that just sent the steak back. Nobody enjoys that conversation. The good ones go anyway.
And booing him right now is a bad idea. A team that has scored seven goals through three games needs its top earner playing free and confident.
The supporting cast is chipping in, at least. Viktor Arvidsson already has two power-play goals, and Raymond has three assists to open the year.
The schedule doesn't give him much time to change the mood. Seattle comes to town Friday, then the Red Wings head to Montreal on Saturday for the back half of a back-to-back.
The Kraken are coming off a 6-2 loss to Vegas. One strong night against Ottawa bought Larkin a little goodwill, but Friday's crowd will decide how much.
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Should Red Wings fans stop booing Dylan Larkin after his two-point night against Ottawa?
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