Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

Trust Dylan Larkin to stand out at the world championship.

The Detroit Red Wings forward Larkin scored his second goal of the tournament as the U.S. topped Hungary, 5-1, in a Group B preliminary game today in St. Petersburg, Russia. Larkin, 19, leads the Americans with six points (two goals, four assists) after five games. Auston Matthews, expected to be the No. 1 pick in next month's NHL draft, has five points.

It's not a surprise that Larkin is doing so well, as he has a history of excelling at every level of hockey. The Waterford native and Michigan alumnus led the Wings with 23 goals his rookie season and scored in his second NHL playoff game.

Hungary isn't the most intimidating of opponents (the Hungarians have yet to win a game, in fact), but these performances do matter because national teams need to finish inside the top four spots of the group to advance to the knockout round. The latest victory got the U.S. into third place, behind Canada and Finland, each of which has 12 points and has beaten the U.S.

The preliminary round runs through Tuesday. The U.S. has two games left: Sunday against Germany and Tuesday against Slovakia (and Wings forward Tomas Jurco).

Other local players: Former Wolverines Tyler Motte and J.T. Compher were scoreless for the U.S. Their U-M linemate, Kyle Connor, did not play.

Detroit Red Wings' Dylan Larkin nets 2 assists in U.S.'s win at worlds

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.