GRAND RAPIDS - Andreas Athanasiou, who during the Stanley Cup playoffs gave the Detroit Red Wings a glimpse of what the future holds, provided at least a tomorrow for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Athanasiou capped an epic comeback for the Griffins on Tuesday with a goal 1:55 remaining for a 5-4 victory over Lake Erie that staved off elimination.

The center, who provided a toe-dragging highlight reel goal for the Red Wings in their first-round series against Tampa Bay, used his speed to put one in the memory bank for the Griffins.

MORE: See how the game played out in our live blog

He took a pass from Tyler Bertuzzi, streaked down the left side and fired a low shot that whizzed past Lake Erie goalie Joonas Korpisalo to cap a Griffins' comeback from a 4-1 deficit.

"It was definitely a big one for me and a big one for this team," Athanasiou said.

The series, with Lake Erie leading 3-1, shifts to Cleveland on Saturday.

Athanasiou has only been with the Griffins for the second round series. He was excused to attend to a family matter when the Red Wings were eliminated and the Griffins' first round series against Milwaukee began.

It was his first goal with the Griffins since Dec. 19.

"I was just breaking up the wall there and I knew I had a lot of speed and I saw Bert (Bertuzzi) cut back and throw it over there," Athanasiou said. "I was just happy he caught me in stride really well and I just went down.

"I think I was passing up shots a little earlier in the game and so I figured I'd let this one go."

The goal breathed life into the Griffins, who trailed 4-1 until late in the second period.

Athanasiou also showed an ability to persevere as he is still trying to regain his endurance in the transition from limited minutes with the Red Wings to a big role with the Griffins.

"I don't think he had jump all through the game," coach Todd Nelson said. "I thought there were spurts of it. But on the winning goal, he definitely kicked it into high gear."

That's what Nelson hopes Athanasiou can contribute the rest of the way.

"He's a guy who's a game-breaker," Nelson added. "He can explode in a situation and make a nice shot, like he did. He did it at the right time, that's for sure.

Athanasiou said he has embraced a return to Griffins and the chance for a Calder Cup, despite being away from the team since early February. He scored eight goals and 16 points in 26 games during the regular season.

"Playing big minutes, being good for the team, working on all the aspects of my game and just giving everything I got every night."