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The Red Wings are hoping to see the combination of Henrik Zetterberg (left) and Pavel Datsyuk on the ice Tuesday at Montreal.

(AP File Photo)

DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings placed Johan Franzen on short-term injured reserve due to a groin pull, which creates a roster spot for Pavel Datsyuk.

Now they'll wait another day to see if Datsyuk can make his season debut Tuesday in Montreal (7:30, Fox Sports Detroit).

The Red Wings were preparing as if Datsyuk, out since Sept. 22 with a separated shoulder, is playing. He skated on a line with Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader and also worked with the top power-play unit.

But Datsyuk said his status won't be determined until after the morning skate.

"We'll see; day to day," Datsyuk said. "Shooting for a long time is good. It's only the contact still. But I had last week. We see what happens tomorrow."

If he can't play Tuesday, is he confident he'll be back later in the week, Thursday or Saturday?

"I hope," Datsyuk said. "You never know but what I'm looking for."

Coach Mike Babcock is hopeful.

"He's looked great and has been practicing for a while," Babcock said. "I don't know if he's playing or not playing.

"We're preparing ... we had him on a line, but I had him on a line last Monday, so ..."

Whenever Datsyuk returns, Babcock realizes it's going to take some time to feel comfortable.

"We don't want to defer to Pav, we've been doing fine without him," Babcock said. "We just want everyone to play and do their part. It's going to take Pav a while to get going, too."

Teammates seemed convinced that Datsyuk will return Tuesday.

"Pav is one of those few gifted guys in the league that can do certain things with the puck that only a few guys can do," Niklas Kronwall said. "Even in saying that, the rest of us, we have to get better than we have been."

Said Tomas Tatar: "It's huge. We missed Pav last year a lot. Just to have him in the lineup every game is huge for us. They have to be aware of him. He's a danger for other team, just his name."

Franzen, injured midway through Friday's game in Toronto, is eligible to come off IR on Saturday.

Jimmy Howard will start Tuesday, after not dressing as the backup to Jonas Gustavsson on Saturday due to a tender groin that has healed quickly. The club reassigned Petr Mrazek to the Grand Rapids Griffins.

"It was a little sore so I just wanted to be cautious," Howard said. "I wasn't planning on playing from the get-go Saturday so we decided to use caution with it."

He said of his injury: "The ice just gave out underneath my foot in Toronto late in the game when I went to push across. So those things really can't do anything about it. It rebounded quickly so it was nice to see. It wasn't that bad."

Anticipating Datsyuk's return, Babcock shuffled his lines in practice:

Henrik Zetterberg-Pavel Datsyuk-Justin Abdelkader

Tomas Tatar-Riley Sheahan-Gustav Nyquist

Andrej Nestrasil-Darren Helm-Tomas Jurco

Drew Miller-Luke Glendening-Joakim Andersson

Stephen Weiss and Daniel Cleary rotated in.

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