Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard gets the start and forward Henrik Zetterberg returns to the lineup Friday against the Washington Capitals at Joe Louis Arena.
Howard dressed as the backup to Jonas Gustavsson in a 5-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. He hasn't played since Jan. 20, when he left a game against the St. Louis Blues in the second period due to discomfort in his knee.
Zetterberg, who has two goals and six assists during a four-game point streak, hasn't played since Jan. 24 against the Montreal Canadiens due to a sore back. He has 16 goals and 44 points in 40 games this season.
Daniel Cleary will come out of the lineup to make room for Zetterberg.
The Capitals, meanwhile, don't expect to know until game time whether defenseman Mike Green will be in the lineup.
Green was involved in a first-period collision with Columbus Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner in a 5-2 loss Thursday. He stayed down for about a minute before heading to the dressing room.
Green came back and sat on the bench during a stoppage in play three minutes later, then got up and left with a member of the Capitals training staff.
The Capitals on Friday recalled defenseman Tyson Strachan from Hershey of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis and he could take Green's place in the lineup. Center Ryan Stoa was reassigned to the AHL.
Michal Neuvirth starts in net for the Capitals after Braden Holtby faced the Blue Jackets. Neuvirth stopped 28 of 30 shots in his previous start, a 2-1 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 24.
Here are the projected lineups for the Capitals and Red Wings:
CAPITALS
Marcus Johansson - Nicklas Backstrom - Alex Ovechkin
Martin Erat - Brooks Laich - Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera - Jay Beagle - Tom Wilson
Eric Fehr - Casey Wellman - Joel Ward
Scratched: Aaron Volpatti
Injured: Jack Hillen (broken leg), Mikhail Grabovski (knee), Mike Green (upper body)
RED WINGS
Gustav Nyquist - Henrik Zetterberg - Justin Abdelkader
Tomas Tatar - Riley Sheahan - Tomas Jurco
Joakim Andersson - Darren Helm - Daniel Alfredsson
Drew Miller - Luke Glendening - Patrick Eaves
Jonathan Ericsson - Niklas Kronwall
Scratched: Todd Bertuzzi, Jakub Kindl
Injured: Johan Franzen (concussion), Pavel Datsyuk (lower body), Cory Emmerton (finger), Stephen Weiss (sports hernia)
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