NHL

Howard plans to start taking shots on Saturday and he's scheduled to be re-evaluated on Monday. Red Wings GM Ken Holland speculated that Howard could return in about seven-to-10 days.

"I had fluid removed, I think it was like, 20 CCs of fluid," Cleary said. "It's amazing the relief. And then had the shot. It feels 10 times better than it did." The shot he's referring to is cortisone. Cleary had been playing through the injury for weeks before his knee injury was aggravated by a hard hit to the boards on Wednesday.

Lidstrom will play in his 1,549th game as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, tying Delvecchio for second place behind Gordie Howe who played 1,687 games for the Wings. "I can't think of a better person than Nick," Delvecchio said. "He's done real well with the Red Wings, been a great leader. He's a real cool cookie out there, shall we say. He's just an all-around All-Star hockey player."

Howard has been out just over a week with the broken digit and while he has been on the ice during practice, he has not taken any shots. "The doctor gave him the green light whenever he feels comfortable with the vibrations (of taking an opposing player's shot)," GM Ken Holland said. "I would assume he'll take a few shots (at practice today) and if he feels good, he'll take some more and if he's not, he won't. I don't want to put a time frame on it but in another week to 10 days I would think he's going to be playing." Joey MacDonald will continue to start during his absence with Ty Conklin as the backup.

Cleary has had a problem for most of the season as he has a cyst on his knee. He was checked on his knee Wednesday during the second period and did not return. It was assumed that he would undergo a procedure to remove the cyst, something that would likely keep him out a week, but that has not happened thus far. Stay tuned.

Cleary's knee was a problem before the game even started, but a check in the second period made matters worse. He's likely to get an injection and should be considered very doubtful for Friday and Sunday's games.

After playing with four different teams over the course of two seasons, having a degree of stability with the Detroit Red Wings has benefited White. He has 26 points in 51 games and might surpass his career-high of 38 points.