Notes: Nielsen, Athanasiou out against Columbus

COLUMBUS-- The Red Wings will have a different look tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but not by choice.
Frans Nielsen did not make the trip and Wings coach Jeff Blashill confirmed that Andreas Athanasiou will also not play due to injury.

Instead, the Wings are expected to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
"The advantage if we go 11 and seven is you get a chance, one, to put forwards on that line that has two, whatever the makeup is, they can give a different look to that, you have a chance to give some ice time to different guys," Blashill said. "Especially on the road it's a little bit easier because it doesn't disrupt the flow as much as because you don't have the opportunity to match as hard as you do at home. I like it a little better on the road than I do at home. If I play (Luke Witkowski), I'd like to play him on the back side not the front, he's been practicing lots of D and I thought he had a good game on D."
Witkowski has played in just one game this season, on Oct. 18 at Tampa Bay.
"Everybody's goal is obviously to be a regular," Witkowski said. "I've kind of found myself as a fill-in guy, but I think I've done a really good job when I've stepped in. I've done my job. That's all I can ask for from myself, to make the most of my opportunities."

Witkowski played 10:34 in that game but registered two shots in limited action.
"I'm not going to turn down a shot," Witkowski said. "Good things happen when you get the puck to the net, especially when you get it there quick. Guys are scrambling around. It goes up to the point and you get a quick shot, you never know what's going to happen."
REMATCH IN COLUMBUS: The Wings opened the season by hosting the Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena.
The Blue Jackets came away with the 3-2 victory, mostly due to hemming the Wings in their own zone for most of the night.
Columbus outshot Detroit, 39-20.
"We got to make sure that we try to control the play a little more, not be careless with the puck," Justin Abdelkader said. "I think we did a good job against Dallas of limiting our mistakes and our turnovers. Just continue to shoot pucks and be good in the offensive zone."
Mike Green didn't play in that first game but he knows the kind of challenge that the Blue Jackets present.
"They're a great team, they seem to come in waves, Green said. "If you can take sort of their time and space away and cause a bit of confusion you can break them up a little bit but if you allow them to skate and move the puck then they're a pretty dangerous team, especially the players like (Artemi) Panarin and those guys. If we can sort of get above them right away and make sure we stay on top of them."
Panarin leads Columbus in scoring with five goals among his 15 points in just 10 games. Panarin has six goals and seven assists in eight career games against the Wings.
Right behind Panarin in scoring is Cam Atkinson with six goals and five assists. Atkinson has 13 goals and seven assists in 22 games against the Wings.
Blashill is familiar with both Atkinson and Sonny Milano from coaching them on Team USA during the world championships in Denmark last spring.
"I had Cam a couple times now," Blashill said. "Had him a long time ago at the Ivan Hlinka tournament when I was coach with Eddie Olczyk and had him at this World Championship. I've always liked him a lot as a person. He's a quiet competitor. He's got a great shot, he can really score. I thought his game was complete. That's probably a compliment to Torts (Columbus coach John Tortorella).
"He was good defensively. He blocked shots, he penalty-killed a little bit for us. But I thought his game was complete. Sonny I didn't know until that tournament. He didn't get tons of opportunity to play, so that's a harder judge. He's certainly got talent and I think he's just learning how to apply that talent in the NHL."
NOT TOO FRIENDLY: Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella recently said he believes the league has gotten a little too soft and is like a "hug fest."
"The game has evolved and changed since I started in the league," Green said. "It's funny that he said that. It's just the way it is. It's just a different game. Not to say it's better or worse, it's just different.
"The game's meant to be played hard, period, whether you're in someone's face or not. That hasn't changed. The intensity is still there, the speed's still there. You can still play a gritty game."
Some of that is due to changes in enforcing the rules, which prevents players from interfering with fast, offensively gifted players.
"It's definitely changed. It's way more skilled, it's faster," Abdelkader said. "You're not seeing as much of the physical play. The style of the game, you're seeing younger kids, 18, 19. 20-year-olds come into the league and just fly and they can play. Before, years back, those guys, the big defensemen could kind of clutch and grab and hold them."
Although players are often friends with guys on other teams, that doesn't necessarily mean they will take it easy on them during games.
"I remember seeing (Zach) Werenski, an example tonight, I think it was his first year in the league, he hit (Dylan Larkin) at the blue line, stepped up and hit Larks pretty good at the blue line," Abdelkader said. "I obviously knew they were friends, but when you're out there on the playing ground, you're battling for opposing teams and that stuff can happen. It's kind of good to see, too. There's always going to be the friendships but I think between the whistles guys play hard."
Some players will always prefer the NHL the way it used to be.
"That helped me get to the NHL," Witkowski said. "A lot of guy's careers were hinged on that. I know that the fans like that aspect of the game - some fans, anyway. It'll definitely change the game. It's a different type of energy when that's still in the game, and everybody knows that. "