New York’s third period rally fell short in Montreal last night, as they lost for the ninth time in twelve games this season. Alain Vigneault’s decision to ride the hot hand backfired, as Ondrej Pavelec gave up three first period goals en route to a 5-4 defeat. Here are today’s news and links:

Rangers News:

• Highlights: MTL 5, NYR 4 (4:34 video via NHL.com)
• Steve Zipay recaps last night’s defeat from the Bell Centre (Newsday)
• Garrett Gartino examines some players who are losing their value due to decreased roles on the team (Blue Line Station)
• Brandon Sapienza ponders what could happen if Ryan McDonagh and Kevin Shattenkirk never gel as a defensive pairing (Blue Line Station)
• Pat Keogh offered his thoughts on the Rangers prior to last night’s action (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Tom Castro thinks Jeff Gorton should think twice before wasting future assets on short term improvements (Elite Sports NY)
• Jess Rubenstein delivers a prospect update, with bits on Sean Day, Tim Gettinger, and more (Blueshirt Bulletin)
• Postgame Notes: Although they may not have won the game, New York did land 31 hits (Official Team Site)
• Media Availability: Alain Vigneault,(1:35) Ondrej Pavelec,(1:23) Ryan McDonagh,(1:23) and Rick Nash (0:57) (Official Team Site)/

Around the NHL:

• Emily Sadler passes along word of the prank Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ryan Reaves pulled on teammate Phil Kessel (Sportsnet)
• The Arizona Coyotes acquired goaltender Scott Wedgewood from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 5th Round Pick in the 2018 Entry Draft (TSN)
• Cam Tucker reports that Peter Chiarelli has come to the same realization the rest of the hockey world did four months ago: Edmonton badly lost the the Jordan Eberle trade (NBC Sports)
• Craig Morgan evaluates the options for players to get around the NHL’s transfer agreement with the CHL (FanRag)/