The Detroit Red Wings forward was all over the ice, not taking any shift lightly. The end result? Quite a bit of scoring.
Larkin had two goals and an assist for the Atlantic Division in a 10-6 win against the Metropolitan Division in the second semifinal at FLA Live Arena on Saturday. He then scored a hat trick in a 7-5 win against the Central Division in the final.
"It was a great experience, just playing with these guys and hanging out with them in the locker room," Larkin said. "The Tkachuks (Florida Panthers forward Matthew and Ottawa Senators forward Brady) led the way with the locker room talk how we were going to play pretty hard, and we did. It was way more fun winning it and having fun, guys scoring goals and doing what it takes. It was a great time."
More so than on Friday, when Larkin said he caught some flak after finishing his heat in the Upper Deck NHL Fastest Skater in 14.558 seconds, fourth among the five contestants. He did not qualify for the final.
"I got nervous about it, and I came back and someone said to me, 'Oh, you weren't trying,'" Larkin said. "I was, so I kind of got a little bit upset about that, and I wanted to get out there and skate and be competitive and have fun doing it. So, it was just fun to skate."
And score.
As Larkin talked to the media after the final, he was handed the pucks from his hat trick against the Central Division, the date in masking tape around the sides.
"I don't get hat tricks too often," said Larkin, who has one in his NHL career. "So, it counts."
Now, Larkin is ready to get back to Detroit, where he leads the Red Wings with 43 points (15 goals, 28 assists) in 47 games.
Detroit (21-19-8), which hasn't qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2015-16, Larkin's rookie season, is seven points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.
"I think any time you get time off during the season, it's very important to get away and kind of get your mind off it, then come back to it, reassess and be very reenergized," Larkin said. "I hope guys are excited to get back to work, and we have a tough one with Edmonton coming up right away (on Tuesday), but it's a challenge and we've responded well to playing against good teams all year."
