Red Wings expect Datsyuk back with Zetterberg tonight

Jimmy Howard will return as a starter and, if he's able to play, Pavel Datsyuk will be back with Henrik Zetterberg.

The Detroit Red Wings host the Carolina Hurricanes at Joe Louis Arena (7:30 p.m., FSD, 97.1 FM) with just a little bit on the line. If the Red Wings win and the Pittsburgh Penguins also beat the Ottawa Senators, then the Wings will have clinched a 24th consecutive playoff appearance. Otherwise, there's two games remaining to get the job done.

Datsyuk didn't take part in the morning skate, but general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press he expects Datsyuk to be in warm-ups, and coach Mike Babcock expects Datsyuk to play because "my mind won't let me think anything else."

Datsyuk missed five games in mid-March after blocking a shot, pain that was re-aggravated after a two-game reappearance. He played in weekend games vs. Minnesota and Washington, the latter of which saw him appear to get hurt in the third period after a collision with John Carlson. Datsyuk did finish the game, though.

Justin Abdelkader remains sidelined by a hand injury, and Erik Cole is also out because of concussion-like symptoms. Tomas Jurco (upper body) has been skating, but hasn't played since last week.

If Datsyuk can't play, prospect Landon Ferraro is available. Babcock sounded like Ferraro might play regardless, possibly in place of Daniel Cleary.

"He's got 27 even-strength goals and he can flat-out fly and play without the puck, so I'm hoping he's on it," Babcock said of Ferraro.

Red Wings can clinch, but they haven't looked good

It has been a rough spring for the Wings. Since finishing up two months of mostly road games at the end of February, at which point they were 35-15-11 for 81 points, they have gone just 6-9-2 to reach 95 points. That's making for a dicey start to the last week of the regular season.

"Everybody knows the situation," Babcock said. "Everybody knows the points, everybody knows how many points everybody else has. The bottom line is, it's a process business. Do good things and good things will happen. I really believe we've played a lot of good hockey here of late. We haven't scored and we've let it in too easy. We've got to just keep building on our game and we're excited for this opportunity.

"If I would have told the guys at the start of the year that we'd have an opportunity to be in the playoffs, they would have been jacked. We're still in that same opportunity."

Howard is a logical choice to start given Petr Mrazek has had let in bad goals in his two last starts. Howard had a bumpy March, but he did well last Saturday at Minnesota, and that's what Babcock wants to see down the stretch.

"He's our veteran guy," Babcock said. "The ball is in his court right here."

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