Notes: Athanasiou helping team to 4-0 preseason record

DETROIT-- This preseason is pretty much everything Andreas Athanasiou could have wanted.
Athanasiou, 24, is in his natural center position, he's playing in every situation, he's playing with talented players and he's getting lots of ice time.

On Sunday in the Detroit Red Wings' 3-2 victory in Pittsburgh, Athanasiou played 23:32, more than any Wings player, and scored a goal, his second of the preseason.
Athanasiou grinned when asked about getting so much ice time.
"Anytime you play a lot, it's definitely a good feeling," Athanasiou said. "Anytime I can play those minutes, I'm definitely happy to do that."

If Athanasiou keeps playing the way he has so far, those minutes will keep coming.
"I just think he's looked real dynamic, it looks like he's at another level," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "He looks like he put work in this summer. I think he's worked and competed and when he works and competes, he's a dynamic player. I think he's done that pretty consistently. I think he's got a good brain. He wasn't with (Thomas) Vanek last night but when he's with Vanek, it's a good guy to play with because there's a lot of hockey sense going on there."
Athanasiou got to be the veteran on his line in Pittsburgh, centering 18-year-old Filip Zadina and 19-year-old Michael Rasmussen.
Rasmussen had a goal, his second of the preseason, and Zadina assisted on it.
"Anytime those guys can get a head start producing in this league and getting comfortable doing that, it's always a step forward," Athanasiou said. "I think it just kind of shows you the depth that we have with the young core group and the young guys that are coming up."
The Wings also improved to 4-0 in exhibition play, including two overtime wins.
"We've won every game so it's definitely been good," Athanasiou said. "All the way through camp I've felt pretty good, too."
Blashill said in the preseason, it's not about the record but more about how the team is playing, both as a team and as individuals.
"We weren't good enough in the first. We were fairly lucky to get out of there with the score what it was, to be honest with you," Blashill said. "So I would say probably where is our team game at? The individual components of the team game and the overall team game. We're looking at individuals for sure. The only thing I'd say about winning and losing, the thing that winning does help is it helps confidence. For a team that didn't win enough games last year, it certainly helps to have a good record that way. But in the end, the record doesn't carry forward. It's just how you're playing is what does carry forward."
One of the adjustments Athanasiou is working on this preseason is face-offs.
Because he wasn't a regular at center last year, he wasn't getting too many face-offs in games. Now that he is getting a lot in the preseason, it's becoming more natural.
"That's all it is, it's just reps in this league," Athanasiou said. "These guys are so good, they've been doing that job for years. Definitely getting used to it every game more and more. Anytime I step into that dot, it's a little bit more maturity for me and every time I learn something new. I'm still definitely looking up for sure in the face-off dot."
Against the Penguins, Athanasiou was at 61 percent in face-off win percentage.
While Athanasiou's good friend Anthony Mantha has said that he is aiming for 30 goals this season, Athanasiou prefers not to set a number.
"It all depends on how much ice time you get and how much you play and the positions you're put in, man-advantage or penalty kill," Athanasiou said. "I think I generate a lot of offense and I generate a lot of opportunities so I think that it just comes with the opportunity and as much opportunity as I get, I think I'll be able to produce more and more and more. So I try not to set numbers.
"I think the sky is the limit for me and I want to keep it that way."
INJURY BUG: The Wings have a few minor injuries right now in camp in addition to Mike Green, who is out with a virus.
Goaltender Jonathan Bernier was supposed to play the entire game in Pittsburgh but remained in Detroit.
"He's got a little bit of a (lower-body) tweak," Blashill said. "I don't know whether he'll be available for either of these next two games or not. He's pressing to play. It's nothing huge, but it's enough that it's keeping him out right now."
Also on the shelf are veteran defensemen Jonathan Ericsson and Danny DeKeyser.
"They both have minor (upper-body) tweaks, I don't think anything major," Blashill said. "But right now, they're not available tomorrow night for sure and I don't think they'll be available for Wednesday."
DeKeyser played just 14:10 in Pittsburgh.
FRK BETTER: While a few players sit without injury, one has returned.
Martin Frk, who has been out since the first day of training camp, was able to participate in skills work Sunday and then in the full practice on Monday.
"I hurt my oblique or something like that," Frk said. "It was just a little cross-check, doing drills one-on-one, hit me in a good spot. I couldn't stand up. I strained a muscle. It was bad for a couple days and then it started getting better. I got on the bike after a couple days and started slowly getting back into it. Today was my first full practice, yesterday, too, but we just did the skills. It wasn't a real test. Everything went fine, so it was good."

As long as everything goes well, Frk expects to play Wednesday in Boston.
With so much competition in camp, Frk can't afford to miss too much time.
"It's hard to make a case for where you belong if you don't play," Blashill said. "He knows that and it's unfortunate that he's been out, but that's sports. You got to find opportunity to go in and be real good, so hopefully he can go in and Wednesday and be really, really good."
Frk said he had a good summer of working out and came into camp feeling good.
"I tried to just work on my shape, be in the best shape," Frk said. "I did put in almost four months of working out. I said to myself I need to be in good shape and be ready for it, because I know it's a big year. I knew Detroit will have a lot of picks in the draft, so there will be a lot of new players and the also the young guys look very good, too. You want to earn your spot, because they want to take your spot. You just want to be good every day, work hard and you will get rewarded."
One of the players the Wings took in the draft was fellow Czech Republic native Zadina.
"He's good. Amazing shot. It's a fun player to watch," Frk said. "It's a big step from juniors. He played at Halifax, I played there, too. I know they took good care of him there. He looks really good, hopefully he can stay here. He will definitely help the Red Wings with his shot. He can make a play, too, as well. He's a very good player and hopefully he will do good."
Of course for Frk to make the team, he has to use his own special shot to earn his spot.
"Hopefully I can score some goals and be good on the power play," Frk said. "It's a big thing for me. I did try to work on it in the summer, just picking the shot, always try to open for it. It's not always about the offense, but also what I can do for the defense, help them, back-check and be good in the D-zone, too, because that's what Blash wants. I got to do these things good and then we will see how the games go."
VELENO BACK TO THE Q: The Wings announced they have sent center and 2018 first-round pick Joe Veleno back to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Drummondville Voltigeurs.
Veleno had two assists in three preseason games.