Dylan Larkin Has Been Hockey’s Most Impressive Forward

Larkin to Eichel Deep Dive:

Blanket statement, Dylan Larkin has been dominant on offence. Dylan Larkin is third in league scoring behind Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. As of writing this, Larkin has 11 points through 6 games, and league leader Jack Eichel has 16 through 7. Both Americans are on a torrid pace, and while it’s hard to call Larkin better than Eichel, there is a reason I stand that Larkin is more impressive. It’s harder to generate offence from your own end against the elite, and Larkin has.

Deployment:

Larkin faces a much harder deployment than Eichel. Dylan Larkin is playing the third-highest quality of competition of any NHL centre at +1.36 according to Dobber Frozen Tools. Compare this to Eichel, who is playing -0.58 competition, you can see why it’s so easy for Eichel to feast. Their defensive deployments are similar; Larkin starts 62% of his shifts in the defensive zone, while Eichel starts 57% of his shifts in his own end. It’s not hard to see why Eichel has the edge.

Special Teams:

I get it, the power play is a part of hockey. I’m never going to fault a guy for doing well on the power play. But Eichel’s 8 power play points give him 8 at even strength. This ties him with Larkin for even strength points in one more game played. Eichel also spends nearly an entire minute more on the power play than Larkin does. If Detroit were given the same looks on the power play as Vegas was, Larkin would be able to grab more points. Again, this isn’t really a fault, but Eichel has scored a point on 88% of Vegas’ power play goals. Larkin is only at 75% on fewer power plays. It’s a low blow to knock a player for being so good on the power play, but what Larkin is doing at even strength is as impressive as the league leader is.

Teammates:

I love Lucas Raymond and Emmitt Finnie; however, Vegas has a lot better players surrounding Eichel. This is why Stone and Eichel have Larkin beat. Larkin has had his best line-mate swapped for Mason Appleton for a portion of the season so far. Eichel has spent most of the season with one of Stone or Marner. It’s again, no surprise why he has been so successful. Eichel is a part of a great line; Larkin, for a lot of this season, has been the line.

Larkin Against the Crowd:

Larkin has been strong across the board. His 59.6% faceoff percentage is something special, and it’s a key reason Detroit has been able to break out of those defensive deployments with Larkin on the ice. Larkin is tied for the second-highest +/- at +9. Which is a flawed statistic, but given Larkin’s defensive burden, it’s still impressive. Larkin also hasn’t played a non-playoff team yet. Larkin has also led Detroit to wins over divisional seeds in each game. Finally, Larkin has factored in on over 50% of Detroit’s goals. The Red Wings have scored 20 goals this season, and Larkin has 11 points, meaning he was responsible for the majority of Detroit’s offence.

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