Battling: The Wings are in a decent place right now. They’re battling for points and wins, which is good. I wish they didn’t have to battle so much and eke out wins with so much difficulty, but we’re probably stuck with that until they get back to something resembling health. Easy wins will not come this season and the more consistently the Wings remember that, the more consistently we’ll see them add to the win column. If they forget it like they seem to do every few games, we’ll get more Edmonton-like kicks to the gut.

Howard: He bounced back from the Oilers game with a strong performance against a Rangers team that threatened an awful lot. He was helped a couple times by a Ranger inability to finish (Sean Avery), but made some really big time saves when it mattered. His staying with Callahan on the penalty shot was top-notch. Good to see him continue to play well, especially as it looks like Osgood’s head isn’t quite in this season yet.

Some mediots are talking like Howard’s taken over the #1 job, but that’s obviously BS. Aside from the fact that starter/backup roles are much more blurred on this team than some others (NJD, Calgary, etc.), no one in their right mind is going to pick Howard over Osgood for that part of the year that really counts: the playoffs. Obviously, you need to go with the guy who gives you the best chance of getting you to that point, but despite his recent success, Howard’s still not that guy. What he is starting to offer is a great second part of a 1-2 punch the Wings will get if Osgood finds the track.

Zetterberg: I don’t know what it was about Lundqvist, but Hank seemed especially motivated to beat him last night. Maybe he’s sounding his fellow Henrik’s readiness for the Olympics. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get one into the net, but he did set up Cleary’s game-winner, which counts for something.

Datsyuk: He finally got a goal, but my patience is wearing thin. He looks like he’s skating in quicksand out there. Granted, the ice was absolutely terrible, but other guys still found a way to look like they were in high gear. Meanwhile, Pavel looks like the motivation’s not there. Could be he’s nursing some injury. I’d rather it be that than that he’s disinterested.

Stuart: Good hit on Anisimov, but he didn’t have to do a lot of work on that one. The guy just ran into his shoulder. Larry Brooks lamely noted no penalty was called on the play. Uh, Larry, what would you have called? There was nothing there.

Acting Guild: The Rangers have picked up a few tips from citizens of NYC in the acting business, it seems. Avery’s show on the Zetterberg trip would have gotten him an Oscar and Del Zotto did a great job of showing the crowd what it looks like to be sniped from the rafters. Ridiculous.

Draper: Love reading about his calling the team out Saturday night. Hope it means something going forward. I would love it even more if it’d been Hank or Nick, but Draper works, too.

Next up: A short break before a game against the Blues on Wednesday. A pretty important one, too.