Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

Jimmy Howard and Alexey Marchenko have been placed on injured reserve as the Detroit Red Wings juggle the ailing and the arriving.

Wings general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press the moves were made to enable calling up goaltender Jared Coreau to serve as backup while Howard recovers from a groin injury suffered Friday. Marchenko’s IR status was backdated to Nov. 20, when he suffered an upper-body injury.

While it’s only short-term IR – seven days – the news isn’t good. Speedster Andreas Athanasiou's return from a sprained knee suffered Nov. 10 is still not on the horizon.

“He’s a couple of weeks away,” Holland said of Athanasiou. “He skated a little bit on his own the last two days, but he’ll have to practice with the team for at least a week before he can play. And he’s not there yet.”

Athanasiou’s absence, coupled to Darren Helm being out at least until January with a dislocated shoulder, leaves the Wings notably slower. Athanasiou has a way of using his speed to create something out of seemingly nothing, because he can accelerate so quickly and has a nice finishing touch.

Red Wings first-quarter grades: A for Jimmy Howard, D for Petr Mrazek

The availability of Tomas Jurco is also in flux after he spent two games playing with the Grand Rapids Griffins in an effort to make a comeback from off-season back surgery.

“He felt a little tightness in his back” after Friday’s game, Holland said. “He’ll see our doctor in Detroit and then based on that, we will decide where to go next.”

Jurco remains on long-term injured reserve, where he counts neither against the roster nor the salary cap.

All the injuries have allowed looks at several prospects. Anthony Mantha firmly is making a case he should not be sent back to the minors; Tyler Bertuzzi looks like a smart player and he finishes checks, but he does need to get bigger.

Now comes a chance to look at Coreau – possibly, anyway, as there is a back-to-back next weekend. The 6-foot-6 netminder won only one game his first year as a pro, but turned in 29 victories last season and is 8-5 this season with a 2.39 goals-against average and .923 save percentage with the Grand Rapids Griffins. He is ready for an NHL audition.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

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Red Wings lose Jimmy Howard (groin), but beat Devils, 5-4, in overtime