Before the news came down that Dylan Larkin had been suspended, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill had this to say to MLive’s Ansar Khan regarding his team’s need for collective reaction to would-be instigators:
“We got some fiery competitors on our team, and I’d rather have fiery competitors that you got to work with to make sure they keep their tempers in check than guys that are vanilla and aren’t competitors,” Blashill said.
The Lightning prevailed 7-6 in overtime in a chippy game that featured a lot of scrums and emotions running high. Blashill was asked if he is concerned about opponents taking liberties with some of the team’s younger players.
“Certainly, people test your young players,” Blashill said. “I’ve been with Dylan since Day 1. They’ve definitely tested him from a young age, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the same with (Lucas) Raymond and (Moritz) Seider. Those kids are both pretty tough, strong kids and they can, I think, do a pretty good job of protecting themselves. I guess if goes on we have to get people in here to make sure we’re protecting them.”
