Red Wings put Franzen back on IR

Tuesday, 01.28.2014 / 12:38 PM

By NHL.com Staff - / 2013-2014 At the Rink Blog

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After one game back, Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen on Tuesday was placed on injured reserve due to a recurrence of concussion issues.

Franzen had an assist in 16:45 of ice time Sunday against the Florida Panthers, his first game after missing 16 with a concussion sustained during a game Dec. 15 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Any time it's a head injury -- we've been through it a number of times -- they're hard things," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told reporters after the team's morning skate Tuesday. "Obviously [Franzen] thought he was ready and then found out he wasn't.

"He'll be out a few [games] for sure, anyways, and he continues to work with doctors at U-M [University of Michigan]; they'll figure out when he’s available."

He'll be replaced in the lineup for the Red Wings' game Tuesday at the Philadelphia Flyers by forward Joakim Andersson, who was activated from injured reserve Tuesday.

Franzen is just the latest high-profile Red Wings forward not with the team as it tries to remain in the Stanley Cup Playoff hunt. The team's top two scorers, Henrik Zetterberg (back) and Pavel Datsyuk (lower body), did not make the trip to Philadelphia. Also missing is Stephen Weiss, who continues to recover from sports hernia surgery.

Goaltender Jimmy Howard, who had missed the past three games with a knee injury, will return to the lineup as the backup to Jonas Gustavsson on Tuesday. Howard said he wants to get a few practices in and play Friday against the Washington Capitals.

The Flyers will have Steve Mason in goal, but the focus for Philadelphia is better starts. The team has been outscored 13-3 in the first period of its previous nine games, a stretch that has seen them go 2-5-2.

The lineup also will have Scott Hartnell in it. Hartnell feared he had broken his left foot blocking a shot Jan. 14 against the Buffalo Sabres. But a recent CT scan showed no breaks.

"It's obviously a big relief," Hartnell said. "I've just got to play through the discomfort."

Easing that discomfort could be a return to the top line, alongside Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek.

"He [Hartnell] has been a good player for us," Flyers coach Craig Berube said. "Good to see him out there. We were a little worried after [a 6-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday], but it turned into a positive. It’s good."

Here are the lineups the Red Wings and Flyers could go with Tuesday:

RED WINGS

Gustav Nyquist - Joakim Andersson - Justin Abdelkader

Tomas Tatar - Riley Sheahan - Tomas Jurco

Daniel Cleary - Darren Helm - Daniel Alfredsson

Drew Miller - Luke Glendening - Patrick Eaves

Kyle Quincey - Danny DeKeyser

Jonathan Ericsson - Niklas Kronwall

Brendan Smith - Brian Lashoff

Jonas Gustavsson

Jimmy Howard

Scratched: Todd Bertuzzi, Jakub Kindl