Red Wings forward Larkin scores in NHL debut

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin scored in his NHL debut Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Larkin gave the Red Wings a 3-0 lead 20 seconds into the second period of their season opener when he lifted a shot over the right shoulder of goalie Jonathan Bernier.

"It's an incredible feeling just to see it go in and see the Joe go pretty crazy," Larkin said. "Ever since the introduction there, I was kind of feeling the nerves, and to put that one home, I started to feel comfortable and I thought my play started to pick up."

Larkin got his first NHL point with an assist on Justin Abdelkader's second-period goal that made it 2-0.

The Red Wings won 4-0, defeating former coach Mike Babcock in Jeff Blashill's NHL coaching debut.

Larkin was the 15th pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. The 19-year-old, from the Detroit suburb of Waterford, Mich., is the first teenager to play for the Red Wings since Jiri Hudler (19) in 2003-04. The last teenager to see significant playing time for Detroit was Jiri Fischer, who played 52 games in 1999-00 as a 19-year-old.