Larkin, Bertuzzi each out for season for Red Wings with injury

Larkin, a center who did not play in a 7-3 win against the Dallas Stars on Thursday because of an upper-body injury, will be reevaluated in two weeks.”Well I don’t think you replace guys like that, certainly not by one individual,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said Friday. “You know, Dylan’s a huge piece of our team. He’s our captain. He drives our engine with his work ethic every day both in practice and games. But I think as you saw last night, guys understand that just means collectively our competition level has to be elite every night. Our work ethic has to be elite every night.”Larkin scored 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 44 games this season, tied with Filip Hronek for the Red Wings lead.”We have to be a real good defensive team,” Blashill said. “Obviously there’s other guys on this team that can score. That was illustrated last night. We don’t expect to score seven every night, though, so we’ve got to make sure we’re great defensively. It gives lots of opportunity to different people.”Blashill said he didn’t know if Larkin would need surgery but said the injury would have kept him out long term if it were earlier in the season.”Obviously I think we have two or three weeks left and it would have been at least that, it would have been more than that,” Blashill said.Bertuzzi last played Jan. 30 because of an upper-body injury, and the forward could need surgery.”It’s been unfortunate for ‘Bert,'” Blashill said Thursday. “The focus right now for Bert is getting himself healthy at the start of next season. I know he’ll work hard with our medical staff to try to get himself into that position.”Bertuzzi was awarded a one-year, $3.5 million contract in salary arbitration Oct. 27 and can become a restricted free agent after the season. He scored seven points (five goals, two assists) in nine games.Forward Robby Fabbri missed his 10th straight game Thursday with an undisclosed injury. He skated Friday in a noncontact jersey.Frans Nielsen is out the rest of the season with a lower-body injury. The forward scored six points (one goal, five assists) in 29 games.”I think Frans did a great job of exemplifying leadership and heart,” Blashill said. “A number of nights he was a healthy scratch, started the year not with the main group. I thought he did a great job of showing what an unselfish teammate he is. He didn’t agree with all my decisions and he wasn’t accepting that, but he was a great example of how you handle yourself when you do go through those type of things. … Every time he stepped into a game he did a good job. It’s unfortunate he can’t help us finish off the season.”The Red Wings host the Stars on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; BSDET, BSSW+, NHL.TV).Detroit (17-25-7) is seventh in the eight-team Discover Central Division, 13 points behind the fourth-place Nashville Predators. The top four teams qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin and independent correspondent Dave Hogg contributed to this report