Red Wings' Howard to return Tuesday: report

The Detroit Red Wings on Monday sent goaltender Petr Mrazek to the American Hockey League, paving the way for Jimmy Howard to return from injured reserve.

The Detroit Free Press and MLive.com reported Monday that Howard will be activated from IR and be available to play Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Howard left a game Jan. 20 against the St. Louis Blues in the second period with pain in his knee; he had missed nearly three weeks in December with a knee injury. This time Howard said he only expected to miss about a week after having fluid drained from the knee, and he previously had targeted a return for Tuesday against the Flyers.

In 29 games the 29-year-old is 9-12-8 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.