Preview: Roster coming into focus as Detroit gets set to take on Columbus

Lucas Raymond didn't betray any emotions.
Asked the obvious question after Monday night's game - that of his roster status - Raymond stared straight ahead, face blank. That decision, he said, would belong to the coaching staff.

"Try to do the things that I can and have control over," Raymond said. "That's where my head is at."
Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, too, gave little away.
"He's obviously got talent," Blashill said. "So let's keep evaluating."

Coming into camp, Raymond seemed likely to be on the wrong side of the roster bubble. Blashill stressed that, to make the team, he would need to, in essence, blow everyone away.
There are still three preseason games to go - though it's unclear how many Raymond will play in. But six points in the games he's gotten into, including two on Monday against the Chicago Blackhawks, has forced Raymond into the center of the Red Wings' roster conversation.
Really, it's one of just a few questions swirling around what the 23-man squad will look like when the puck drops on Oct. 14 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Starting with Wednesday night's affair against the Columbus Blue Jackets (7:00 p.m.), the Red Wings have just three preseason games left to find the answers.
Coming out of training camp, we had a pretty good idea of how the defense would shape up. Blashill said during camp that he planned to carry eight defensemen. Nick Leddy, Moritz Seider, Danny DeKeyser, Filip Hronek, Troy Stecher, Marc Staal, Gustav Lindstrom and Jordan Oesterle were the obvious players to fill those spots at the time, and nothing has happened to change that. Alex Nedeljkovic and Thomas Greiss were always going to be the two goaltenders on the roster barring injury.
That leaves 13 forwards - which is where things get complicated.
Blashill said before Monday night's game that he wants the Red Wings to be "fairly close" to their Opening Night roster by Saturday's preseason finale against the Buffalo Sabres. In a perfect world, things would have more clarity, but because of Jakub Vrana's shoulder surgery - which will keep him out for the season's first four months - and Tyler Bertuzzi's ongoing recovery from back surgery, the Red Wings have questions as to what their top line will look like.
"Ultimately he's gotta be ready for game 1 against Tampa," Blashill said of Bertuzzi, later adding that he's been cleared. "And there's a lot of different ways you can get ready."

If Bertuzzi is ready to go against the Lightning, that would seem to sort out the Red Wings' top line - Dylan Larkin would center Bertuzzi with Filip Zadina likely on the other wing, as Zadina has skated next to Larkin in the preseason.
Against the Penguins on Sunday afternoon, the Red Wings also threw out a line of Robby Fabbri, Pius Suter and Bobby Ryan. Fabbri and Suter will be together on the second line. That much is a given. As for Ryan, his spot is less secure, as he's on a tryout contract. But he's played well during training camp and continued to leave a good impression.
Things do get complicated with Ryan's spot, though. If young winger Raymond makes the roster, it could be over Ryan. The third line - Vladislav Namestnikov, Michael Rasmussen and Adam Erne - looks locked into their spots, and if being in the NHL means being on the fourth line, the Red Wings could be hesitant to put Raymond in the NHL.
Raymond's play, at least, has given the coaching staff much to think about.
"I think he's done a good job of offensively, having some deception, but also taking what's given," Blashill said before Monday night's game, in which Raymond tallied two more points. "I think defensively he's done a really good job with making reads in a lot of situations. Tracking, we had him on the PK because we feel like he's got enough hockey sense that as a young guy, go up and kill some penalties. And so I definitely think that's a strength of his."

Though things can change, it would be hard to leave Raymond out right now.
Joe Veleno is in the mix as well, for the fourth center spot or potentially a spot on the wing.
"At the end of the day it's gonna be their decision," Veleno told DetroitRedWings.com last Friday. "They're gonna do what is best. With whatever they can give me and whatever position that can put me in, I'm definitely gonna make the most out of it, whether it's on the wing or at center."
Though he's played center for most of his career, and prefers that position, the Red Wings have tried him on the wing for a few shifts during the preseason.
"I think just my speed and I guess my physicality as well," Veleno said, when asked what he brings to the position. "I guess winning pucks down low as well. I think I've learned to be pretty responsible in my own end and play that 200-foot game."
As far as the fourth-line center spot goes, though, Mitchell Stephens has seemingly had the edge. Givani Smith and Sam Gagner are the likely candidates to play on either side of Stephens. Carter Rowney is in the mix to play on that line as well - on Monday night, he played on the wing.
"I think it's something guys have to be able to do," Blashill said of playing Rowney, a natural center, at that position. "... We're gonna get him in a few more games here, at least two more, and give him a chance to continue to make his statement."

The 23-year-old Smith should see more NHL action this year as an enforcer on the fourth line. Blashill said he wants to see more consistency out of the winger.
"It's something he's working on, he knows it, he's gotta be better at it," Blashill said. "Ultimately for him to be a real effective player to start, he's gotta make sure he gets pucks out on the wall at our end. He's gotta make sure he gets pucks in deep when he's got it in the neutral zone. He's gotta forecheck, take the puck to the net or give it to somebody else and get to the net."
A constant theme when Blashill has been asked about roster decisions has been the preaching of patience. There is still time left. Players can break out. Injuries can happen. Things can, and will, change.
But the picture is getting ever more clear.