Red Wings Moving Tarasenko to Top Line

Desperate times call for desperate measures and the latest move by the Detroit Red Wings certainly smacks of desperation.

As the Wings play host to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, the club is moving struggling Vladimir Tarasenko up to left wing on the top line alongside Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin.

On paper, it makes sense. Tarasenko is a six-time 30-goal scorer. He netted a career-high 40 goals in 2015-16.

“When you look at their resumes, you look at what they’ve done and the way they can play, they should be a real good line,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said.

Vladimir Tarasenko….. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/GhybrnTgHH

— Steven Ortlieb (@StevenOrtlieb) March 18, 2025

That was then, though. The Tarasenko of now is a shell of that player.

He’s scored nine goals in 69 games this season. Over the past 27 games, Tarasenko has three goals to his credit.

Even McLellan was appearing to recognize the desperation of his latest line juggling act. He let everyone know at Thursday’s morning skate that much like the TV listings, his line combinations for the game were subject to change.

“If they play well, they’ll be the top line,” McLellan said. “He’s going to play with Razor and Larks and we’ll determine who I guess that top line is at the end of the night. But he’s going to get his opportunity to go up there. Yep.”

Red Wings Need To Get Larkin, Raymond Going

At the moment, only the Marco Kasper-Alex DeBrincat-Patrick Kane unit is proving to be consistently productive. Raymond and Larkin were both 30-goal scorers. This season, Larkin, with 28 goals, should ascend to that plateau again. With 24 goals, Raymond will really need to ignite over the last 11 games to again be a 30-goal player.

Both are currently struggling. Larkin has four goals in 15 games. That would be a 22-goal pace over 82 games. Raymond has two goals in the last 15 games.

Raymond seemed to acknowledge that he might be pressing a little bit to produce.

Every Red Wings with multiple 70-point seasons over the last 15 years:

— Lucas Raymond
— Dylan Larkin pic.twitter.com/GY0UTHJ7E9

— StatMuse Hockey (@statmusehockey) March 24, 2025

“Everyone wants to be at their best at this time of the year and wants to perform at a high level and obviously that could sometimes hinder you in ways,” Raymond said.

McLellan knows in order to make the playoffs, the Red Wings need Larkin and Raymond to kick it up a notch in terms of productivity.

“Everybody’s games kind of ebb and flow, and they’ve had some nights where they have been productive,” McLellan said. “They’ve had nights where they’ve had great scoring opportunities and it hasn’t gone in. And then they’ve just had some dry nights.

“There’s pressure on both of them, of course. They’re looked at as our offensive leaders and leaders overall, and at this time of the year, that pressure can be immense. So they have to handle that as well. But expectations are high for the pair and for them as individuals.”