Coach Gerard Gallant said MacKenzie, who missed eight games over the last two weeks of March after blocking a shot, could have played Thursday but was kept out as a precaution.
"The timing of it, had I played in Ottawa and missed this one, it would have been a week between games," MacKenzie said after the morning skate. "I think this one made a little bit more sense to get out there and get the feel for things and just get ready. That's the goal, really, is to get ready for (the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs)."
The Panthers, who will go into their finale with a record 101 points, will face either the New York Rangers or the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference First Round.
Mike Matheson, the Panthers' first-round pick (No. 23) in the 2012 NHL Draft, will play after being recalled from Portland of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. He will replace Steven Kampfer, who sustained a lower-body injury against Ottawa.
Gallant said Kampfer was a question mark for the start of the playoffs, but was confident that Erik Gudbranson would be back in the lineup. Gudbranson will miss his third game after he was injured against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday and sent home in the middle of a three-game road trip.
Matheson played his first two NHL games in late February after his first call-up from the AHL.
"Hopefully he comes out and plays as well as he played the last two games," Gallant said. "It's a good test tonight. Hopefully he won't be in our lineup on Wednesday or Thursday night, but we will see. Hopefully the injured guys are going to be back and we expect them back, but one game at a time."
Forward Brendan Woods will play for the Hurricanes after being recalled from Charlotte of the AHL on Friday. He will skate on the fourth line alongside Jay McClement and Ryan Murphy, who will move from his spot on defense to right wing.
Goalie Eddie Lack will start for Carolina against Roberto Luongo.
Carolina, which will miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, has earned points in nine of its past 10 games (4-1-5) away from PNC Arena.
Here are the projected lineups:
HURRICANES
Joakim Nordstrom - Jordan Staal - Elias Lindholm
Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Chris Terry
Nathan Gerbe - Riley Nash - Brad Malone
Brendan Woods - Jay McClement - Ryan Murphy
Jaccob Slavin - Justin Faulk
Noah Hanifin - Brett Pesce
Ron Hainsey - Michal Jordan
Eddie Lack
Cam Ward
Injured: Derek Ryan (upper body), Phil Di Giuseppe (upper body), Andrej Nestrasil (upper body)
Scratched: None
PANTHERS
Jonathan Huberdeau - Aleksander Barkov - Jaromir Jagr
Jussi Jokinen - Nick Bjugstad - Reilly Smith
Jiri Hudler - Rocco Grimaldi - Teddy Purcell
Garrett Wilson - Derek MacKenzie - Shawn Thornton
Brian Campbell - Aaron Ekblad
Jakub Kindl - Dmitry Kulikov
Michael Matheson - Alexander Petrovic
Roberto Luongo
Al Montoya
Injured: Vincent Trocheck (foot), Dave Bolland (lower body), Willie Mitchell (concussion), Erik Gudbranson (upper body), Steven Kampfer (lower body)
Scratched: Quinton Howden, Greg McKegg
Status report: Carolina reassigned forward Patrick Brown to Charlotte on Friday. … With Murphy playing right wing, Jordan will be in the lineup on defense after he was a healthy scratch the past four games. … Wilson will play for Florida after being a healthy scratch four of the past five games.
Who's hot: Carolina has killed off 88.8 percent of its penalties since Jan. 1, the second-highest success rate in the League. … Skinner has three goals and four assists in his past eight games. … Barkov comes in with a career-high eight-game point streak (five goals, seven assists). … Huberdeau has six goals and four assists in his past eight games. … Hudler has 12 points in nine career games against Carolina.
