"Jimmy Howard went from goaltending to refereeing a broomball tournament Friday.

And while Howard will lose his whistle, he won't be in net anytime soon.

He can thank a broken right index finger for that, suffered Thursday during the Red Wings' 4-3 shootout victory over the Canucks.

He will miss the final two games on the four-game trip — tonight in Edmonton and Monday in Phoenix — and will be re-evaluated when the team returns to Detroit on Tuesday.

"I went blocker down to take away everything down low and (Vancouver center Max) Lapierre spun around and shot it," Howard said. "It missed my blocker and caught me in the finger."

Howard is optimistic the injury won't keep him out long. He hopes to return during the upcoming six-game homestand.

"I've played with broken fingers before," he said. "I'm going to fiddle around with my sticks and cut some notches and hopefully I'll be able to hold on to (the stick)."

Losing Howard, even for two games, is a blow. He leads the league in victories (32) and ranks among the league leaders in goals-against average (2.03) and save percentage (.924).

With Howard unavailable, Ty Conklin will start tonight and Monday, and his backup will be Joey MacDonald, who was recalled from Grand Rapids.

"It's a good opportunity for Conk," coach Mike Babcock said. "He gets a chance.""