Another One On The Shelf

In the holiday spirit, many have an elf on the shelf at this time of the year, but the Detroit Red Wings just keep adding players to the shelf. Forward Andreas Athanasiou was the latest to enter sick bay. He took the warm up for Saturday afternoon’s 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, but was unable to answer the bell. “He had an upper body from the other day that I anticipated him playing coming into the rink today,… Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told Mlive.com. “I think he thought he was going to play yesterday. Then we got here today and it didn’t feel as good and he wasn’t able to go.… There was no firm answer as to when Athanasiou would play again. The Wings close out their pre-Christmas schedule Sunday night at Toronto. “I don’t have any idea beyond that he couldn’t play tonight, or whether he’ll have the chance to play tomorrow,… Blashill said. “I would call him questionable.… Athanasiou is second on the team with 11 goals. The Wings are already missing Anthony Mantha (broken hand) tied for third on the club with nine goals and Mike Green (lower body), their top point-getting defenseman, as well as forward Darren Helm and defenseman Danny DeKeyser. Blashill wasn’t about to go all Tiny Tim over the situation and use it as a crutch. “You’ve got to grind,… Blashill said. “We’ve got to find a way to grind through it. We’ve got to find a way tomorrow to put tons of pressure on Toronto and not let them come at us and not try to defend a whole bunch and try to play offense as much as we can and lay it out there. “We’re going to have 20 dressed good enough to win. We’ve got to go execute at a high level.… Vanek Struggles Though he scored Detroit’s only goal in Saturday’s loss, left-winger Thomas Vanek couldn’t bring himself to feel good about it. It was just his fifth goal of the season and only his second in the past 12 games. “It’s been a frustrating year,… said Vanek, a 10-time 20-goal scorer as an NHLer. “Even tonight, I felt good and should’ve had two, should’ve had three tonight and I walked away with one. “It’s frustrating. I’m losing sleep over it, but at the same time, I’ve got to stay positive here and keep getting to the net, and hopefully it will turn quick.… Vanek, 34, missed eight games earlier this season with a knee injury and acknowledged the ailment was still impacting upon his ability to perform. “Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve ever had a knee issue, so I didn’t know what to expect,… Vanek said. “It’s still not quite there, but I’m getting used to it more and more.… Oh Yes He Did . . . Oh No He Didn’t At first, Vanek’s goal was announced as unassisted. Later, an assist was added to Detroit center Dylan Larkin, a move that would have extended Larkin’s point streak to 10 games. Upon further, further review, the NHL rescinded Larkin’s assist, bringing about a halt to his point streak. Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer