Who's Red Wings' No. 1 goalie? It's Mrazek tonight

RALEIGH, N.C. -- As the Detroit Red Wings prepare for the playoffs, their No. 1 goaltender remains a mystery.

For tonight's game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena (7 p.m., FSD, 97.1 FM), it's Petr Mrazek. That's because Mike Babcock didn't like Jimmy Howard's performance Thursday at Montreal, a setback for Howard after he'd done well his previous two starts.

Howard said he's disappointed and a little bit surprised, "but I do expect" to start the playoffs.

If Mrazek plays well (which he hasn't in three of his last four starts), then it'd be difficult to see Babcock not going with the hot hand.

"What happens is, when you're a big-time goalie, you don't talk about bounce-back games," Babcock said. "You don't talk about the bad goal. You just talk about how many saves the guy makes. That's all part of the business.

Red Wings eye rest before postseason

"It's a hard, hard position. The mental toughness to keep playing, to believe in yourself, to find your game, to have your dips be short - we all go through cycles, it's just you've got to keep them as short as you possibly can. The more talent you have and the harder -headed you are, and the more passion you have, the more you work on your craft, the shorter the down times are."

Mrazek said, "I'm happy I'm in for today. Win the game, that's the most important thing, because last three games I played, I lost it. So I want to win tonight."

That's the big change for tonight's game. Three of the other lineup changes are no surprise, as Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall all will sit out to get some much needed rest.

There's one other change on the backend, as Babcock is benching Brendan Smith for his mishap in Thursday's game, when he batted at the puck as he sat on the bench, earning an interference penalty that left the Wings short two skaters. Montreal scored to make it 3-3, and when on to win in overtime.

The Wings still clinched that night. Where they finish, and who they play in the first round, won't be known until late tonight. First up, they could be affected by how the Ottawa Senators do against Philadelphia (12:30 p.m.). If Ottawa wins, they move ahead of Detroit for the afternoon. The Red Wings could still finish third in the Atlantic if they win.

If Ottawa gets to overtime, the Senators are in, and only one of Boston or Pittsburgh will qualify. The Penguins keep blowing chances to clinch, and haven't yet won in April. They play at Buffalo (7 p.m.). The Bruins play Tampa Bay (7:30 p.m.).

The Montreal Canadiens would clinch the Atlantic Division with at least one point against Toronto (7 p.m.) If the Habs lose in regulation, the Lightning could claim the Atlantic with a win against Boston.

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