Hannu Toivonen will get the start in net tonight for the Blues, who are trying to win games but also prepare for next season.

Will Hannu Toivonen be the backup to Manny Legace in 2008-09? That could be decided with his performance tonight and in the few remaining starts he may see.

Toivonen has looked a little better lately. The Blues didn’t play well in front of him in San Jose in the first period. In the second and third periods, he looked as good as he has since the early part of the season.

Toivonen will see a skilled team tonight in the Ottawa Senators. They are fourth in the NHL with 231 goals. While playing with Boston, Toivonen was 1-1 in four games against the Senators with a 1.30 goals-against average. His victory was a shutout.

“We need to know what we’ve got,” Blues coach Andy Murray said of Toivonen’s start tonight. “We look at the game in San Jose . . . our team didn’t give him much of a chance. It’s important to know what we’ve got, so he’s going back in there tonight. We hope to give him a stronger start tonight.”

Toivonen will be looking for his first win since a 4-3 win over Edmonton December 7. That victory improved his record to 5-3. He’s 0-5-3 since then.

“Should be fun . . . it’s a fun building to play in,” Toivonen said. “One of the best teams in the league. They’ve got tons of skill of front . . . a few of the best players in the league. I just have to try to have some fun and get a win. Obviously the big thing is to get a win. I haven’t won in a while. That’s the main thing.”

Some in the organization has said that Toivonen’s confidence has been the root of his struggles this season. When asked if that were true, Toivonen said: “To some extent.”

When asked about these last few starts being an audition for the backup job next year, Toivonen said: “Every goalie wants to play as much as possible. You have to make the best of it every time you get out. Just enjoy the moment.”

The Blues will try to complete a sweep of the Northeast Division this season. It’s interesting that the Blues have the fewest road wins in the NHL (11, tied with Tampa Bay), and yet they have beaten Toronto, Boston, Buffalo and Montreal all on the road this season.

“The most important thing is to be 5-0,” Murray said. “We talked about that this morning. We played the Leafs when the Leafs had got it going and then they dropped after we beat them. We played Buffalo . . . I think Buffalo had won six or seven in a row when we played them. Boston had been on a good streak and we went in and beat them . . . and then they slid a few games. Montreal obviously couldn’t be much hotter. Figure that out.”

Jay McKee will not play tonight and could be sidelined for many of the remaining games. His bone bruise in his foot was very sore after Tuesday’s game. Roman Polak stayed with the Blues just in case and he will be in tonight.

Polak, who has been paired with Jeff Woywitka recently, will join Eric Brewer on the top pair tonight.

“We’ll try Roman there,” Murray said. “We’ve got six defensemen that we can play with. Roman has shown us that he can play and we want to continue to look at him.”

Polak said “I’m not sure how long I’m going to be here, so I’m playing like it’s my last game. I played with Brew last year, probably all 19 games, so I know him. Sure it helps, but sometimes it doesn’t matter. I was playing with Woywitka and I was playing good with him. I could be playing better, though. I’m ready for tonight.”

Woywitka will be with Matt Walker and Barret Jackman will be with Erik Johnson.

The forward lines will be the same tonight. Martin Rucinsky and Cam Janssen are both out.