DALLAS — Detroit Red Wings forward David Perron was suspended for six games by the NHL on Monday for cross-checking Ottawa defenseman Artem Zub in the aftermath of a hit on Dylan Larkin that knocked out the Detroit captain.
Perron, a former Lewiston Maineiacs player, was given a match penalty for intent to injure for cross-checking Zub as he stood next to the prone Larkin in the first period of Saturday’s game. Larkin was motionless on the ice after getting cross-checked in the back of the head and neck by Ottawa’s Mathieu Joseph.
Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and based on his average annual salary, Perron will forfeit $148,437.48 during the suspension. That money will go into the players’ emergency assistance fund.
Larkin was put on injured reserve, along with left wing J.T. Compher and center Klim Kostin, because of undisclosed injuries before Monday night’s game at Dallas.
Asked earlier Monday if Larkin had a concussion, Red Wings Coach Derek Lalonde said “that’s not my category” and that he would be listed with an upper-body injury. Larkin will be unavailable for at least a week.
“No timeframe on it. … We’ll know more in the next few days,” Lalonde said. “Unfortunate to lose a player of that caliber for an extended period of time.”
Larkin was tied for the team lead with 25 points (11 goals, 14 points).
PENGUINS: Pittsburgh General Manager Kyle Dubas isn’t blaming his team’s sluggish start on Coach Mike Sullivan.
Dubas said Monday the Penguins are “fortunate” to have Sullivan in the fold even with Pittsburgh near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings about a third of the way into the season.
“Do I think that he’s the right person for this job now and far to the future? I absolutely do,” Dubas said.
Dubas praised Sullivan and his staff for their attention to detail and willingness to explore new avenues in search of a way to help the Penguins break out of a 3-5-3 funk since a five-game winning streak in early November.
“They’re trying to figure out what’s going to work moving ahead,” Dubas said. “So that to me has been the most encouraging part. And like any team that’s in this sport, we have to continue to find our way out of it. And I’m certain that Sully is the best person to help us in that regard.”
Sullivan, who led the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, is the NHL’s second-longest tenured coach behind Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper. Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff series since 2018, has the NHL’s oldest roster, and is currently riding an 0-for-37 streak on the power play heading into Tuesday night’s game against Arizona.
While star Sidney Crosby has been his usual dynamic self with 15 goals and 12 assists in 26 games, almost all of that success has come at even strength, as a top power-play unit that includes Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson has fizzled. Dubas says Pittsburgh’s struggles with the man advantage have become almost outsized at this point but added the “players that we have and the coaching staff that we have are far too good not to solve our way out of it.”
The Penguins haven’t scored on the power play since Nov. 11, one of the main reasons they are in seventh in the eight-team Metropolitan Division. Yet Dubas pointed to the team’s solid play at even strength and steady goaltending as reasons to be optimistic. If the star-laden power play gets better, the results will quickly follow.
“If we can get that part of our game rolling … I think we’ll have a good run of success and flow out of it,” he said.
Pittsburgh is currently dealing with injuries to several high-profile players, including forwards Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. Rust, tied for second on the team in goals with 10, is “week to week” because of an upper-body injury. Rakell hasn’t played since Nov. 19 because of an upper-body injury.
Dubas called the injuries “no excuse” and said if the players filling in can’t help keep Pittsburgh afloat, the blame falls on him.
“If we have a depth issue, that falls on my shoulders and should be held against me more than anybody else,” Dubas said.
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