Dylan Larkin returned to the Detroit Red Wings on October 7 and produced a goal and an assist in a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. The game began with boos, shifted to cheers after Larkin scored, and ended with a mixed reaction when he was named first star. The NHL report makes clear that this was not a simple reconciliation: the crowd’s response changed during the night, then remained divided.

A return shaped by the offseason

Larkin had not played in Detroit’s first two regular-season games. It was also his first appearance since asking the Red Wings for a trade and losing the captaincy. He had spent his NHL career with his hometown club, which made the return emotionally loaded before the puck dropped.

The NHL report also notes Detroit had lost its first two games, making the 5-3 result its first win of the season. Larkin had not played in either loss or in the preseason. Those facts help explain why the return and the team result converged on one night, while leaving the trade request itself as a separate question.

The first period gave the crowd little reason to settle immediately. Fans booed when Larkin stepped over the boards for his first shift and again when he first touched the puck. That shift ended with Ottawa scoring on a rush to take a 1-0 lead. The reaction was visible, but it was still a snapshot of one home game rather than proof of what every supporter believed.

The goal changed the sound in the arena

Larkin scored a power-play goal at 13:14 of the first period, putting Detroit ahead 2-1. The NHL report says the crowd began cheering after the goal, while Larkin kept his celebration restrained. He later assisted on Viktor Arvidsson’s power-play goal, which made it 3-1 early in the second period.

The reaction did not stay positive for the rest of the game. NHL.com reported that fans booed when Larkin touched the puck a few more times in the third period. When he was announced as the first star after the win, the arena gave him a mix of boos and cheers. The team result and his two points did not erase the tension in one night.

Concept scoring timeline showing the 13:14 first-period power-play goal that made it 2-1 and the later assist that made it 3-1.
Concept diagram of Larkin’s two scoring contributions: a first-period power-play goal and an assist early in the second period.

What a mixed first star means

Larkin had previously said he wanted to show his commitment through his play. After the game, he was unsure whether trust had been rebuilt, noting that it usually takes time. His performance and the crowd’s reaction do not settle his future with the club. That is a more careful reading than calling the evening a full redemption or saying the boos meant the relationship could not recover.

The longer backdrop is also relevant: Larkin had spent his full NHL career with Detroit, and the Red Wings had missed the playoffs for ten straight seasons, the league’s longest active drought at the time of the report. That history adds pressure to the homecoming, but it does not settle who was right in the offseason disagreement.

A highly visible Reddit discussion about the homecoming showed strong interest in the booing, and a later thread focused on the first-star reaction. Those posts are community snapshots, not a survey of Detroit fans. They help explain why the game drew attention; the official game report supplies the on-ice sequence.