Red Wings' Jimmy Howard: Now pessimistic about knee injury

Howard (knee) said he's "still not feeling great," which calls into question his availability for the AHL Griffins' home games against Milwaukee this weekend, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports.

Analysis:

There had been reason for optimism regarding Howard since he exhibited full mobility upon joining the Red Wings for an optional practice Monday, but evidently the knee ailment continues to bother him. One can only imagine where Detroit would be in the standings had this not been a campaign littered with injuries for the veteran backstop -- he's only appeared in 17 of a possible 59 games -- but the reality is that the Wings are bottom dwellers in the Atlantic Division at 24-25-10. This team will not give up, though, nor should fantasy owners let go of hope that Howard can return and still make an impact with the fantasy season winding down.