General manager Ken Holland confirmed that Howard will be "out a while," telling Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News that the team will see how the goaltender's body responds before providing a timeline for the injury.
Petr Mrazek relieved Howard, who suffered a leg injury midway through the second period of Tuesday's game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In the meantime, Detroit has recalled netminder Jared Coreau from Grand Rapids (AHL). The 25-year-old made his NHL debut this season in a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Canadiens coach Michel Therrien confirmed that Markov will not play versus the Wild on Thursday and that he would be "surprised" if he suits up Friday against the Blue Jackets.
Markov missed his first game of the season in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. The 38-year-old was held out of the lineup with a lower-body injury.
Markov has scored 21 points in 31 games with the Canadiens this season.
He's done it for years. Making his NHL debut in 2009, the 26-year-old has already amassed 416 points to his name. Career-wise, his total goals and assists both rank within the top 100 in league history.
This season, Karlsson outpaces all defensemen in points, as he's done each of the previous three campaigns. Remove the 2012-13 season, when an Achilles injury limited him to 17 games, and his production continues. In 2011-12, Karlsson's 78 points were 25 more than the next highest-scoring blue-liner.
But there's another end of the rink, an area where Karlsson and most offensive defensemen are criticized for playing a too one-dimensional game. But Karlsson's supporting numbers spurn the notion that he's only focused on offense. In fact, he continues to be a leader at both ends of the ice.
Season
Games
Blocks
Takeaways
G-A-Points
2016-17
33
91
25
7-24-31
2015-16
82
175
61
16-66-82
2014-15
82
89
59
21-45-66
2013-14
82
101
68
20-54-74
Karlsson has appeared in all 33 games for the Ottawa Senators this season, keeping with his perfect attendance record over the past three campaigns. And while his production continues to hover around a point-per-game pace, his presence in his own zone has only grown. This season, he's on pace for a career-best 226 blocked shots.
Didn't used to see that kind of heavy stick by Karlsson in front on Toews there. His game continues to grow. #senators
In 2009, six defenders were drafted ahead of Karlsson, including Doughty, who went second overall. But with a performance like he's been giving so far this season, it may not be long before the young Swede adds a third Norris to his trophy case. Not a bad return for a defenseman who was selected 15th overall.
From the "Something You Don't See Everyday Dept.": Sifers lost a skate blade earlier & needed a LOT of help getting to the bench. #Teamwork😜 pic.twitter.com/gvStPeOOfn
Jaime Sifers of the AHL's Cleveland Monsters lost a skate blade during the team's 4-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Tuesday night, and as you'd imagine, getting off the ice was no easy task.
Thanks to some help from a referee and a teammate, Sifers eventually made his way back to the bench.
Only one name lies ahead of Jagr on the list now: some fellow named Wayne Gretzky with an unfathomable 970 points beyond.
Jagr's latest accomplishment is truly remarkable. His longevity, competitive edge, and love for the game has solidified his place among hockey's greatest. He's 44-years-old and still doing it day in and day out for heaven's sake.
It's fun to wonder, though, where Jagr's totals might be without a three-year venture to the KHL from 2008-11, while he was still scoring at an elite rate.
At this point, catching Gretzky is out of the question, but in the name of fun, let's see what he'd have to do.
Player
Games
Points
Career P/GP
Gretzky
1,487
2,857
1.92
Jagr
1,662
1,887
1.13
Simple subtraction indicates there's 970 points separating No. 99 and No. 68. If Jagr were to catch Gretzky, he'd need to play 10 more 82-game seasons, at his career point-producing pace.
But, gone are the days of Jagr winning the Art Ross. Since the 2012 lockout, Jagr has 234 points in 316 games over four-plus seasons, 0.74 points per contest. At that pace, he'd need an additional 16 full seasons to become No. 1.
He'd be 61-years-old by then.
While the grand total is out of reach - Gretzky has more assists alone than anyone else has combined points - had Jagr stuck around the NHL, The Great One's goal record (894) could have been attainable.
Jagr 0.45 goals/gm for career. If you gave him back 3 KHL years & last 2 lockouts at that pace, he'd have 907 goals, 13 more than Gretzky
Who knows, Jagr could prove us all wrong and produce points right into his senior citizenship, supplant Gretzky, and retire on top. He hasn't lost any desire to play the game, and until he calls it quits - whenever that may be - let's enjoy the ride.
The Washington Capitals have identified a wonderful ambassador for the NHL's "Hockey is for Everyone" campaign. And they took the opportunity to surprise her with the trip of a lifetime.
After impressing Capitals alumni Petr Bondra with her hockey skills last month, Fatima Al Ali, a member of the United Arab Emirates national team, was invited to Washington to showcase her talent to the entire team.
Fatima will fly in from Abu Dhabi as part of the February initiative.
Edmonton mayor Don Iveson is pushing to name the Edmonton Coliseum after Wayne Gretzky, according to The Canadian Press.
The Coliseum was the home of the Oilers up until this season, when the team opened the brand-new, $600-million Rogers Place in the city's downtown core.
The old arena, which resides on Wayne Gretzky Drive, is in the process of being transformed into a sports complex for the public.
It's been a Jekyll and Hyde season for Anders Lee.
The New York Islanders forward scored twice in a 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, giving him 11 goals in his last 14 games.
His hot streak follows a 14-game stretch in which he failed to score a goal, and he tallied only once in the 18 contests before his current run.
The 26-year-old winger leads the club with 12 goals - three ahead of captain John Tavares - and ranks fourth with 16 points despite the prolonged drought.
The Islanders haven't been able to capitalize on Lee's impressive roll, though. They've gone 4-4-2 in their last 10 games, and they sit in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 12-14-6 record.
New York is relying on Lee to produce and compensate for the offseason departures of Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen, especially in light of high-priced acquisition Andrew Ladd's struggles.
Given Lee's streakiness, it's unlikely his scorching stretch is sustainable, but the Islanders need him to keep it going to have any hope of climbing out of the basement.