The Detroit Red Wings took Sunday off, a much-needed day of physical and mental rest after the fast-paced exhibition season.

They start the regular season Thursday when they host the Minnesota Wild, after three days of practices to further shape lines and determine who will be in the lineup for the opener at Little Caesars Arena.

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Exhibition season shows Wings have little margin for error

Here are the major takeaways from the exhibition season, in which the Wings finished 3-4-1:

Good goaltending: Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek looked good in their exhibition games. Each played two full games and parts of two others. It’s good to see how well Mrazek has looked, given his mediocre 2016-17 season. Both have looked efficient and confident.

Entertaining trio: The young trio of Dylan Larkin (21) with Anthony Mantha (23) and Martin Frk (23) has been fun to watch. The three have used the exhibition season to develop chemistry, and they could make a really good line. Mantha has played to his size, and Frk has a shot opponents must respect. Larkin looks so much better than last year — that experience as a go-to guy at the IIHF World Championships in May was the shot of confidence he needed after the struggles of his sophomore NHL season. Larkin and Mantha both appear ready to take on bigger roles, and Frk is doing everything right to earn a full-time job.

Roster shaping up: The Wings released forward PA Parenteau from his tryout after he failed to make an impact. Forward David Booth has a chance to turn his tryout into a contract — the Wings don't have much space left under the salary cap but are expected sit down with him Monday. Sunday saw the Wings put goaltender Jared Coreau on waivers; if he clears, he will be assigned to Grand Rapids. Coreau, 6 feet 6, helped the Griffins win the Calder Cup last season. He went 5-4-3 in 14 games with the Wings last season, with a .887 save percentage and 3.46 goals-against average. He played parts of three games in the exhibition season. Forwards Ben Street and Matt Lorito and defensemen Brian Lashoff and Dylan McIlrath also were waived. Goalie Tom McCollum cleared waivers and will be assigned to Grand Rapids.

Rasmussen reassigned: Michael Rasmussen, the ninth pick in June’s draft, has been assigned to his junior team. He got a lot of good looks in the exhibition season and made the most of it, scoring four goals while playing with and against NHL players in some games. Ideally, he goes back to juniors (Tri-City in Western Hockey League) and has a standout year. The expectation is he will push for a job in Detroit as soon as next season, potentially making the team at 19 (like Larkin).

Kronwall’s health: Veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall, 36, is in a better spot with his permanently bad knee than he was last year at this point, but he spent camp battling a back issue and now is day-to-day with a tweaked groin. Kronwall wants to play and the Wings want him to play because he is the smartest defenseman on the team, but the overriding question is how much hockey does he have left in him?

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

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