MONTREAL — Wing Andreas Athanasiou’s weight went down a few pounds after he got sick during the second half of Blackhawks training camp.
At the same time, other things were ‘‘coming up,’’ Athanasiou said with a chuckle Saturday.
‘‘It could’ve been something I ate, but there was a stomach bug going around; a couple of guys got it,’’ he said. ‘‘There were two days there that were pretty bad, then it started getting better. After that, you just keep improving every day.’’
Athanasiou, 29, felt solid enough to play in the Hawks’ preseason finale last weekend. In practice Monday, coach Luke Richardson finally could ‘‘see some light’’ in his game. And by the season opener Tuesday in Pittsburgh, Athanasiou felt back to normal.
Still, partially to ease him in and partially because the Hawks’ improved forward depth this season temporarily had dropped him to the fourth line, Richardson played him only 10 minutes in the opener.
On Wednesday in Boston, however, Athanasiou’s ice time skyrocketed up to 17:31, above his average of 16 minutes last season. His workload likely will stay in that range now that he has been bumped up to the second line alongside center Lukas Reichel.
Guttman finds a way
Center Cole Guttman got his season off to a good start by scoring the tying goal in the opener Tuesday.
On that play, Guttman initially drove to the net to try to screen Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry as Athanasiou curled around the offensive zone. But once the puck careened into the corner and defenseman Seth Jones pushed down the wall and behind the net, Guttman moved back to find ‘‘soft area’’ in the slot, then buried Jones’ perfect pass.
That represented another way he could use the techniques he worked on this summer — cutting back quickly and maneuvering in tight spaces — beyond just offensive-zone entries, which was what he had in mind during training.
‘‘When you develop that skill, you can use it in many different ways,’’ Guttman said.
Guttman, 24, always has figured out how to be productive at every level. He had 121 points in 140 career college games and 30 points in 39 AHL games last season, and he has seven points in his first 17 NHL games.
He might never fill a large role on this Hawks roster, as evidenced by his average ice time of 10:06 in the first two games, but it’s a safe bet he’ll manage to produce steadily anyway.
Grocery bully
There’s a grocery store on the first floor of the apartment building where Richardson, rookie center Connor Bedard and wing Taylor Raddysh live. So when Richardson ran into Bedard — literally — there recently, he had some fun with it.
‘‘I had the cart, [and] I was pushing it against his back,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘We’re in downtown Chicago, so I could see him step to the side; he felt uncomfortable. Then he started to look, so I pushed a little harder, and he moved again.
‘‘He finally turned around with big, wide eyes and saw me, and he smiled and was, like, ‘Oh.’ I said, ‘Welcome to the building!’ ’’
This and that
Wing Taylor Hall (upper-body injury) was a full participant in the Hawks’ morning skate Saturday and might return as soon as Monday against the Maple Leafs.
• Wing Philipp Kurashev isn’t expected to return from his wrist injury before the end of this road trip.
• Prospect goalie Drew Commesso saved 34 of 36 shots in his first pro start Friday, helping Rockford rout San Jose 7-2 in the AHL season opener.
