Dylan Larkin was 'really down' after injury, Red Wings' March slide

Dylan Larkin is on the verge of returning to the Detroit Red Wings . Larkin, the team captain, revealed Tuesday, March 24, what the past few weeks have been like for him. He suffered a fluke injury March 6 when his right leg buckled awkwardly as he pulled up to take a shot in a game against the Florida Panthers.

That left Larkin, 29, on the sidelines near the start of a month that in each of the past two years has seen them collapse en route to missing the playoffs. "It was very frustrating to hear the noise about this time of the month, or the year, and to have it happen when it did, it was extremely frustrating," Larkin said after the morning skate on Tuesday, March 24. "I was really down about it.

" More: NHL playoff window for Detroit Red Wings growing tighter Larkin was a game-time decision for the evening's match against the Ottawa Senators, a game that magnified in importance after the Senators defeated the New York Rangers on Monday to move within a point of the Wings (38-24-8, 84 points). The Wings slipped out of the second wild-card position coming out of the weekend when the New York Islanders won to move a point ahead of the Wings. The standings in the Eastern Conference playoff picture are so snug , positions change daily.

"Down the stretch, we're not going to get in with 84 points, no one's getting in the playoffs with 84 points," Larkin said. "We have to keep winning, and we have to keep getting as many points as we can. Scoreboard watching hasn't been the most fun thing to do, but it's the way it's going this year, and I think it was like this a few years ago.