Red Wings’ John Gibson Returns to Practice, Larkin to Play After Maintenance Day

The Detroit Red Wings received encouraging news on Thursday as goaltender John Gibson returned to practice for the first time since suffering an injury against the Nashville Predators earlier in the week. Gibson, who experienced a “stinger” in his arm, missed the previous night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, prompting the team to call up Sebastian Cossa, their 2021 first-round pick, from the Grand Rapids Griffins.

During Thursday’s session at the BELFOR Training Center, Cossa was seen working with goaltending coach Michael Leighton before being reassigned back to the Griffins. Head coach Todd McLellan expressed optimism about Gibson’s condition, stating, “I haven’t gone into the trainer’s room, but he looked really good in practice. There were a number of times when I went by, and he said, ‘I feel great’, so I’m assuming he’s ready to go.”

In a separate development, team captain Dylan Larkin was absent from practice, a result of taking a heavy cross-check from Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb late in Wednesday’s game, which ended in a 4-3 overtime loss for the Red Wings. Larkin was down for a few moments after the hit but managed to return for a shift in overtime. McLellan reassured fans that Larkin, along with fellow center Andrew Copp, was simply taking maintenance days and would be ready for Friday’s matchup.

“He’s doing good, getting a maintenance day, both him and Copper,” McLellan noted. “Both have maintenance days; it’s that time of year. Bumps and bruises all over the place, he’ll be ready to play tomorrow.” Fortunately, McLellan confirmed that Larkin was sore but had no lasting damage from the cross-check. “He should be good,” he added.

Larkin’s history with injuries has been a concern, particularly following a severe incident in April 2021 when he suffered a season-ending injury from a cross-check by Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars. This latest incident, however, does not appear to have any lingering effects.

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.