Detroit goalie Howard misses playing the Blackhawks
This concept of the Blackhawks and Red Wings meeting only twice a year in the regular season because they're in different conferences now is really bumming out Jimmy Howard.
"I miss playing them more," the Detroit goalie told NHL.com. "When we were in the West and playing them, you knew it was going to be a battle, it was going to be a fun atmosphere and the game was going to be up-tempo.
"There were going to be saves and chances galore, great goal scoring. It's always fun when you get to play Chicago."
Well, tonight the two Original Six teams get to have some fun again when they square off at Joe Louis Arena for the only time this regular season. They will meet at the United Center on Feb. 18.
And with the Wings hoping to be playing in a sparkling new arena by 2016, it'll be one of the last times the Hawks play at The Joe - something that kind of bums out Patrick Kane.
"It's fun to go into Joe Louis and play - it's one of my favorite rinks in the league just because it's so old-school and has so much history and the ice is so great there," Kane said. "Always seems to be a good game when we play the Red Wings."
Has been for a while now.
"I remember when I first came into the league they gave us a few whoopings and really taught us how to play the game," Kris Versteeg said. "When they beat us in the playoffs in 2009 that really helped us to get over the hurdle in 2010 for the Cup.
"It's been a great rivalry."
The Hawks come into tonight's showdown fresh off back-to-back victories over a couple of tough customers in San Jose and Tampa Bay, while the Wings (7-3-5) have to be itching to get back at it after last playing an actual game way back on Sunday.
"I think we've won three of our last four and things are turning upward here," Kane said. "We know Detroit's a tough team, they're always very tough to play against, especially the way they play.
"They clutch and grab and kind of hold on to you to make things very tough offensively and play a lot of defense. By no means will it be easy."
The two teams each have 19 points and are just inside the top-8 in their respective conferences, meaning things are set up perfectly for yet another rugged game between these longtime rivals.
"There's a lot of - I don't want to call it hatred or whatever - but the rivalry is definitely intact," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "You can feel it in the building. You can see it in warm-ups. Even preseason games when we're at Detroit, you still have that sense these are still meaningful games.
"They're only once in each building, but it still has a lot of flashbacks to some great tradition of the Wings and the Hawks."
• Follow Mike on Twitter at @dhspellman.