Jimmy Howard has been out with a broken right index finger since the Red Wings beat the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout on February 2. Howard is inching closer to a return, though, as he faced shots in practice on Saturday for the first time since injuring the finger.
According to MLIVE, Howard is aiming for a Friday return vs. Nashville:
"The finger felt good, the rest of me felt awful,'' Howard said. "I guess that comes with the territory after taking 10 days off with no shots. (The finger) felt good out there. Now let's see how it feels tomorrow and hopefully it keeps getting better.'' [...]
"There's no reason to rush back,'' Howard said. "Give it a couple more days to heal and allow me to get a couple of more practices under my belt, so I can get my game back to where it was.''
He said the pain is gone.
"After taking shots today, see how it feels tomorrow and getting back to where I was before, playing-wise,'' Howard said.
When Howard returns, he will play with the notch cut out of his stick to make it easier to handle.
Joey MacDonald will start on Sunday when the Red Wings go for an NHL record 20 straight home wins.
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