It’s three games in now, this experiment meant to run until the end of the season.



It was Jeff Blashill’s opening message, on the day of the NHL trade deadline last week, that Andreas Athanasiou would finish out the season at center — a move that shook up the Red Wings’ lineup substantially.



At first blush, the stakes of that trial may not seem massively high, because not much in this particular Red Wings season is. But they’re not negligible, either. Detroit is hoping to unearth another top-six center, and is starting with perhaps the only player on its current roster capable of being one into the future (depending on one’s thoughts on Michael Rasmussen).



Athanasiou is second on the team only to Dylan Larkin in high-danger chances per 60 minutes at even strength this year (10.87), a stat which shouldn’t really be a surprise considering his propensity to get himself one-on-one with a goalie. And when you consider the...