Which Red Wings team is going to show up tonight?

We do know they will be wearing white again this evening as the team will be sporting special Lokomotiv memorial patches on their sweaters. The game used jerseys will be sold as a fundraiser. So will this team play like the road team that usually wears white? Or will they be so determined to win another home game it doesn't matter the sweater on their backs?

Standing in their way from reaching history is the Philadelphia Flyers. One of the two franchise that holds the record the Red Wings are going after. The 1975-76 Flyers and the 1929-30 Boston Bruins are the only two other teams to win 20 straight games at home. It will be no easy task if the Wings want to join that club.

Philly is in the second toughest division in the league. They're chasing the Rangers and trying to keep the Penguins from nipping at their heels. They're one of the deepest offensive teams in the league with one of the best players in Claude Giroux. They score so many goals because the defense and goaltending has struggled this season, especially with the loss of Chris Pronger. It doesn't necessarily mean this will be a high scoring affair. The Wings tend to make mediocre goalies look like Vezina winners at times. Ilya Bryzgalov or Sergei Bobrovsky could be in for a great night. We shall see.

History may be on the line tonight, but more importantly, there are two points on the line. The Blues and Canucks keeps winning and the Wings need to do the same. Every point matters. It's the race to the playoffs and the most important thing is collecting points.

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Broad Street Hockey is your SBNation Flyers' blog.

Puck drop is just after 7:30p ET on the NBC Sports Network.

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Which Red Wings team is going to show up tonight?

Let's hope it's the team that is confident and dominant at home because the Ducks are arguably the hottest team in the league since the ball dropped on New Year's Eve and it became 2012. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about this game. The Ducks have been playing well and you know they hate the Red Wings just as much as the Wings hate them. Anaheim is going to want to be the team that ends the home winning streak.

The Wings will once again be without all-star goalie Jimmy Howard and another name will be added to the injured list as Danny Cleary will miss tonight's game as well. He didn't return last game after taking a check into the bench door against the Oilers. He's been having knee issues and has been putting off getting a procedure done. He'll be getting his need drained and will be out at least a week. There was hope Howard could return Sunday, but that seems unlikely and he'll be back in another 7-10 days.

It's going to be a challenge for the Wings tonight. It won't be an easy game. The defense is going to have to do their job in front of Joey MacDonald. They need to block shots, take away chances and just make sure their goaltender is put in the best position to win. The Wings best players need to be their best players and they need to be better than the Ducks. If Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen and Filppula can be better than Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan, Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne, then the Wings will win this game.

A win tonight would put the win streak at 19. That's a damn fine number. More importantly there are two huge points on the line tonight. The Canucks have pulled within one point of the Wings and have a game in hand. The Blues are within three points and have two games in hand. Detroit needs to keep winning. Home ice could be the difference come playoff time. The road to the postseason is underway and the Wings can't let the points slip away.

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Anaheim Calling is your SBNation Ducks' blog.

Puck drop is just after 7:30p ET on Fox Sports Detroit for the locals and NHL Network for us out-of-towners (game will be blacked out on Center Ice and GameCenter).

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Which Red Wings team is going to show up tonight? (Graham...CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!)

Hopefully it's the team that dominates the hell out of it's opponents at Joe Louis Arena because the Wings are riding a 17-game home win streak and I'd like to see that continue.

That's not a typo either

Seventeen straight wins at home. Seventeen freakin' wins-in-a-row at home.

Think about that for a moment.

The Red Wings haven't lost at Joe Louis Arena since dropping a 4-1 contest to the Flames on November 3, 2011. It's been THREE MONTHS since they lost at home! That loss to Calgary was the final game of a three game home skid by the Wings. Before losing on November 3, they dropped the two previous home games 2-1 in OT to the Wild and 4-2 to the Sharks.

Since then it's been all wins, baby.

It's been a run of historic proportions. The Wings have already broken their previous home win streak of 14 games. The old record was set during the 1964-65 season by the likes of Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Norm Ullman and Ted Lindsay. This season the streak has been led by the usual names of Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom and guys who have taken the next step this season like Jimmy Howard and Valtteri Filppula.

However, it can all slip away rather quickly. The Oilers are a team that's been playing well as of late and just beat the Wings in a shootout last weekend. They could very well come in and do the same tonight. Without Jimmy Howard in net, even with Joey MacDonald playing well, the Wings could struggle. They've been a different team at home, but this will be the first game all season at the Joe that hasn't been started by Howard. It will be interesting to see which Red Wings team shows up.

The pesky Oilers aren't going to just lay down because of the 17 game win streak. They're going to want end the streak. Every team is going to come into the Joe looking to stop the train that is the Wings at home. The Blues and Predators are nipping at the Wings heels. Points are an absolute necessity tonight. Don't take the Oilers lightly. Play some defense against that Sam Gagner guy. Bring home the W and add two points to the division, conference and league lead.

Get the job done.

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The Copper & Blue is your SBNation Oilers' blog.

Puck drop is just after 7:30p ET on Fox Sports Detroit Plus.

Check out the expanded in-depth home win streak stats after the jump.

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February 6.

A very important day on the calendar every year. Why you might ask? Well...today is my birthday. A great day for the world overall, but not the greatest day for the Red Wings.

Let's go back 24 years to the day.

February 6, 1988.

The day of my birth the Red Wings defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-4. The greatest Red Wing of all-time Steve Yzerman recorded a hat trick in that game. Petr Kilma had 3 assists. Adam Oates had 2 assists. Glen Hanlon was in net with 34 saves. Pretty damn cool to know that a mere hours after being born my favorite hockey player of all-time (sorry Brendan Smith) scored a hat trick.

Including that 5-4 win, the Red Wings are 4-4-0-0 all-time on my birthday. However, they haven't had the best luck recently. They are 0-2 in their last two games on this great day.

The last time Detroit played on February 6 was in 2010. They lost 4-3 to the Los Angeles Kings. I try to forget this game. The Wings led 3-0 after the 1st period and I thought I had a nice gift on my hands. By the end of the 2nd, it was 3-3 and, with just over two minutes left in the game, L.A. scored to take the lead and win it. No one of the better birthday memories.

Before that, the Wings dropped a 1-0 game to the Avalanche in 2003. Curtis Joesph was in net for the game and Alex Tanguay scored the only goal. You have to go all the way back to 2002 for the last Wings victory on my birthday. It was a 3-1 win for the good guys over the Rangers. Kris Draper, Brent Gilchrist, and Sergei Fedorov scored for the Wings and Petr Nedved scored for New York.

The good news? For my birthday I got two tickets to see the Wings take on the Rangers at MSG in March. That's got to be a good sign right? It won't be an easy game tonight. Still no Jimmy. Still a slumping Mule. Plus a Coyotes team coming off a nice win over the Sharks. If the Wings play like they did in the first two periods against the Oilers, well than let's just make their record on my birthday 4-5-0-0 before they even drop the puck.

All I want for my birthday is two more points. Let's hope Babcock and company can deliver that gift.

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Five For Howling is your SBNation Coyotes' blog.

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The Oilers put on a show Tuesday night.

22-year-old Sam Gagner scored four goals and added four assists to tie Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey for the franchise record of eight points in a single game. The Oilers ended the game with an 8-4 victory over the Blackhawks. Before Tuesday, Edmonton had only scored nine goals in their previous four games before the offensive explosion. Hopefully they shot their load on offense and they return to their normal ways tonight.

Of course, news broke yesterday that Jimmy Howard is out with the tip of his finger broken. That means it's up to Mr. Conklin to close the door. And while he's played better recently, if Gagner plays like he did last game he might be breaking Darryl Sittler's record of 10 points in a single hockey game.

Joking aside, the Wings are finally above .500 on the road (15-14-0) and, even without Howard, the Oilers are a team Detroit should beat. They're capable of stealing a game (as they did against Chicago), but the Wings talent is better, older and wiser. The division battle is close and the team has put an emphasis on playing better on the road. Tonight is a chance at two more points and another step in the right direction.

The race for the playoffs continues with a second stop in Alberta. The rest of the Central is right on the Wings heels. Don't let the points slip away.

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The Copper & Blue is your SBNation Oilers' blog.

Puck drop is just after 10p ET on Fox Sports Detroit.

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It's Number 1 vs Number 2.

Battle of Division Leaders.

The two top teams in the West squaring off in a game that will have an impact on the race for the first seed in the West.

This game is important for both teams and I guarantee you that both teams badly want to win this game. For the Canucks, it's a chance to gain ground on the Wings for home ice advantage. Vancouver, even though they made in the Cup Finals last season, is still out to prove themselves. Not too long ago, Henrik Sedin came out and said the Canucks need to be more like the Red Wings. They're trying get rid of the diving, the cheap crap, and grow up. Tonight they'll try to prove that they can be like the Wings against the very team they're trying to be like.

For the Red Wings, it's a chance to further themselves from the pack of rabid teams nipping at their heels. It's a chance to improve the road record above .500 and do it against one of the better teams. Let's face it, the Wings suck on the road. They're a completely different team and it annoys the hell out of me. If they can go into Vancouver and stick it to a team that's pretty darn good, that's going to go a very long way for this team's confidence about playing on the road and it sure as hell will give us fans more confidence too.

This isn't a road game against a crappy Eastern Conference team. The Wings know what's at stake. The race for the playoffs is underway and Orca is on tonight's menu.

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Nucks Misconduct is your SBNation Canucks' blog.

Get your naps in after work, puck drop is just after 10p ET for us east timezone folks (the good timezone).

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The unofficial second half the season is set to begin.

The Wings currently sit atop the Western Conference and atop the entire NHL. The last two times Detroit led the league in points at the all-star break they won the Stanley Cup (2002 and 2008). That's a cool stat, but it doesn't guaranteed anything. You don't win the Cup in January and you sure as hell don't win the Cup if you can't win on the road.

The Wings might be downright frightening to play at the Joe, but on the road they're a completely different team. All season long Detroit has flirted with a .500 road record. They currently sit at 13-14-0 as they stroll into Calgary. It's a big game for the Wings and an even bigger road trip. The playoff race started a long time ago for the Central Division. The Wings hold a two point lead over the Blues and a three point lead over Chicago and Nashville (and if you were wondering they hold a 35 point lead over the Blue Jackets). With four game on the road through western Canada and Phoenix, the Wings better learn how to win on the road and learn fast. It won't take much for Detroit to drop from 1st in the NHL to 4th in the Central.

The road to the playoffs is underway. Points are at a premium. Don't let them slip away.

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Matchsticks and Gasoline is your SBNation Flames' blog.

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There's is only one game in the entire league tonight and it features the greatest organ-i-zation in the history of hockey and the Montreal Canadiens.

It's a tale of two seasons for these clubs.

The Red Wings are in their familiar position atop the division, the West, and the entire league. Some guys retired, the roster was tweaked, and assistant coaches were changed last offseason, but the Red Wings are a franchise that is consistent in their ways and it shows mightily on and off the ice in the last 20-plus seasons.

The Canadiens on the other hand are in the midst of quite possibly one of the most embarrassing seasons in their history. The Habs struggled out of the gate and, in October, right before a game against the Flyers, the team fired an assistant coach. Two months later they axed head coach Jacques Martin. His replacement? Randy Cunneyworth. The new head coach was vilified by the media, fan base, and citizens of Montreal. Why was Cunneyworth evil? Because he doesn't speak French. Fast forward to this month and GM Pierre Gauthier trades forward Mike Cammalleri...in the MIDDLE OF A GAME. Cammalleri was pulled from a game against the Bruins in the second intermission, told to change into his street clothes, take a cab back to the team hotel and wait for further instructions. Crazy.

Meanwhile, while the Habs were self destructing and P.K. Subban was taking classes at the Devin Setoguchi School of Diviing (featuring Barret Jackman), the Red Wings were -- and still are -- beating every team in their path and enjoying life on the top.

The Habs aren't a team that's going to take runs at the Wings and try to be overly physical with them. They're a smaller team and will try to use speed to their advantage. The Wings have the ability to match that and then some. It's an original six match up and anything can happen. The crowd in Montreal will be fired up and so will the Wings. It's the last hockey game until after the All-Star break and it's going to be a good one.

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Habs Eyes On The Prize is your SBNation Canadiens' blog.

Tonight's game is exclusive to NBC Sports Network

NHL36 featuring Nicklas Lidstrom is at 6:30p ET

NHL Live follows that at 7p ET

Puck drop is just after 7:30p ET

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