Notes: Larkin getting closer to playing but not expected to go Friday

DETROIT -- Fans wanting to get a look at Dylan Larkin this preseason will have to wait a little bit longer.
The Detroit Red Wings center has been dealing with a minor foot issue that kept him out of the Red and White Game and a few practices but he returned to the ice with his teammates on Thursday.

"Just a nagging injury -- I wouldn't even call it an injury, just a thing going on," Larkin said. "It's my foot, my heel. We're just trying to figure it out. Something that came up during training, running. Trying to figure it out and get it settled down. Skated today, felt good. We'll see what tomorrow feels like."
Wings coach Jeff Blashill said he didn't anticipate Larkin being ready to play Friday night when the Wings host the New York Islanders.
"We're going to give Larks enough time to make sure that when he comes back, there's no re-aggravation of what I would term a minor injury," Blashill said.
Although Blashill originally wanted to play Larkin with his expected linemates, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi, he said he did not plan to wait for Larkin before playing the other two.
The three have established chemistry both on and off the ice, but Larkin said they still need some time together in the exhibition season.
"It's been a long summer," Larkin said. "I think the chemistry, you still need to work some things out. I'd say everyone's first game is pretty ugly. I just don't want my first game to be against Nashville. We're working on it. I don't think it's going to be a problem. I'll be all right."

Larkin wasn't sure he would be able to play by Sunday's home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins but he's not concerned.
"I'll be back playing soon," Larkin said. "I feel great. I had a great summer in the gym. This isn't an injury that's going to hold me back. If this was the regular season, I'd be playing tomorrow night. I think we're looking into it too much. It's nothing to really worry about."
GREEN FEELING FINE: For a guy who hadn't played a game since March 2, Mike Green didn't have time to think about whether he was ready Wednesday night at Chicago's United Center.
Green played a team-high 23:57 in the 2-1 exhibition loss to the Blackhawks.
"There was no easing into it," Green said. "I think it took some time to find my timing again and sort of the rhythm and flow of the game but once that sort of came, you settle in quickly."

When Green was healthy last season, the Wings were a far better team.
Unfortunately, a virus at the beginning of the season, an injury later and a recurrence of the virus at the end of the season limited him to 43 games.
"It took a while," Green said. "About mid-July, it started to feel good, so I ramped it up. There was enough time before camp to get going.
"I feel good. Really good. Trying to move on from last year. I had a good summer. I was able to recover. I feel a lot better and I'm ready to go now. All's well."
Green was paired with Jonathan Ericsson in Chicago.
"I thought Greener was solid, I thought he had a good first game coming back after a long time," Blashill said. "I talked to him on the ice today, he said he felt pretty comfortable, just trying to get his timing back, trying not to over-push it and force things to happen. I thought he played a solid game. I like where he was at and it's a good step."
As a veteran, Green will not have to play in as many games as some of the younger players looking to earn a job but he doesn't have a number of games he expects to play.
"As many as they want to play me," Green said. "Obviously I didn't play to finish the season last year, so I haven't played in a while. I'm okay playing games."
FIRST FOR SEIDER: Moritz Seider had a nice challenge Wednesday, playing his first NHL preseason game in Chicago against some of the Blackhawks' best players, including Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
"I thought Moritz did a good job," Blashill said. "I thought it was a tough challenge, obviously they had a pretty good lineup, certainly with Toews and Kane, that's two of the best players in the world. He was out there enough times against that group and I thought he did a good job. I thought Dales (Trevor Daley) did a good job of talking to him and helping him out through the process, but I also thought Moritz did a good job. It was a good first game."

Throughout the prospect tournament and now in the preseason, Seider has not been afraid to throw around his 6-foot-4, 207-pound body.
"I think he's a pretty big, strong guy for his age," Blashill said. "He's 18 years old but he didn't look, to me, out of place physically from a speed or from a size standpoint so I think that was a positive start. Obviously there's lots of little things that he can continue to learn. So for exhibition one, I thought he played a solid game. Let's continue to watch and see how he does."
Green has also been impressed with Seider, the Wings' first-round pick, sixth overall, in this past summer's NHL Entry Draft.
"Great composure. He moves the puck well, he sees the ice well," Green said. "He kind of has all the tools. Not only that, he's a really good kid, willing to learn and listen. I think as any older guy and a right-handed defensemen myself, just trying to sort of help the development and growth as much as possible, because he's going to be a heck of a player."

While younger forwards in the NHL have become the norm, it usually takes a little longer for young defensemen to acclimate.
"The past has sort of shown that," Green said. "The thing about the league now is everybody is looking for young, right-handed defensemen. He's got a great opportunity in front of him."