Coming off of a game-breaking performance against the Philadelphia Flyers, Andreas Athanasiou showed yet another sign of a breakout season. He tied for the team lead in goals with his fourth to go along with a beautiful shootout winner. It was his fifth game playing 14+ minutes through 12 contests, compared to just one time last season. However, he will have to deal with a minor setback for the next 7-14 days.
#RedWings Andreas Athanasiou is out 1-2 weeks with a knee sprain.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 11, 2016
Athanasiou to Miss 1-2 Weeks, Anthony Mantha Gets Call
It is not all bad news, however, as a silver lining has come with a pure shooter that many of the Detroit Red Wings faithful have been calling for. Anthony Mantha has earned another call-up and chance to show what he can do for the big club.
#RedWings recall Anthony Mantha from @griffinshockey
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 11, 2016
This season, Mantha has played with a chip on his shoulder ever since he was one of the final cuts in camp. His three-goal performance in five games made the decision to send him down at the beginning of the season very difficult, but Jeff Blashill gave him praise on his way down to show the Grand Rapid Griffins what he had to offer in his third season, the second removed from a broken leg he suffered in 2014.
“I said to Anthony Mantha I thought he had a great summer. He’s put himself in a way better spot. I had him his first year pro. He has come a long way. He has made these decisions more difficult.”
After his first 21-goal season in the AHL in 2015-16, a year after Red Wings Senior Vice President Jim Devellano called his 15-goal rookie season a “disappointing” campaign, everything is clicking for Mantha this season. Ten games have passed, and the two-time 50-goal QMJHL scorer with the Val d’Or Foreurs has found his touch with eight goals and ten points in 10 games to tie for the AHL lead in markers. He is proving his title as a pure goal scorer, something the Red Wings have lacked ever since Thomas Vanek went down with injury.
The Griffins have carried a 20.5% conversion rate with the man advantage and Mantha has scored four of their nine goals for with the unit. Since Vanek went down, the Red Wing power play has deeply missed him, scoring three times on 27 opportunities, good for an 11.1% conversion rate which has ranked 23rd in that eight-game span. Coming to the Wings, Blashill feels what Mantha can contribute and has moved Justin Abdelkader down to the third line to open a spot for him in the top-six.
#RedWings top two lines at practice:
Larkin-Miller (holding Zetterberg spot)-Nyquist
Tatar-Jurco (holding for Nielsen)-Mantha— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 11, 2016
In ten games with Detroit last season, Mantha scored just two goals, both on the power play, but had many goal posts and opportunities to let his patented wrist shot go. This time around, he may be up for just a week due to the fact that Vanek and Athanasiou could be back in as little as that time frame.
However, that just increases the intensity for Mantha to make the decision to send him down difficult yet again.
Quote courtesy of Detroit Free Press
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