The injury to Rick Nash proved too much for the Rangers to overcome last night, as they fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-2. With the loss, New York ceded the top seed in the Eastern Conference to their rivals from the keystone state, and are close to dropping to 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division after the Columbus Blue Jackets won their tenth game in a row. The Rangers will have two days to regroup before hosting the Minnesota Wild in their last game before Christmas. Here are today’s news and links:

Rangers News:

• Highlights: PIT 7, NYR 2 (4:35 Video via NHL.com)
• Larry Brooks passes along word that Rick Nash and Pavel Buchnevich both have timelines as to when they’ll be back in action (NY Post)
• Steve Zipay reports that Rick Nash will be out at least three games with his second groin injury of the season (Newsday)
• Justin Tasch recaps last night's 7-2 drubbing at PPG Paints Arena (NY Daily News)
• Sean Hartnett discusses how Derek Stepan’s lack of goal scoring shouldn’t concern due to the value he provides with the rest of his game (CBS)
• The Hockey Suit takes time away from the lower bowl of Madison Square Garden to break down how a commitment to backchecking is driving New York’s success (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Andrew Berkshire compared Antti Raanta and Henrik Lundqvist prior to last night’s debacle to figure out who the Rangers should roll with in net (Sportsnet)
• George Ruggiero believes that Henrik Lundqvist is still among the NHL’s elite despite his "slow" start this season (Blue Line Station)
• John Williams highlights the New York’s struggles on the powerplay throughout the month of December (Blue Line Station)
• Drew McCaffrey thinks that Michael Grabner has established himself as the team’s Carl Hagelin replacement (Blue Line Station)
• Tom Dianora points out how Rick Nash has proven himself despite having an injury-riddled season (The Hockey Writers)
• Postgame Interviews: Ryan McDonagh, (1:54) Mats Zuccarello, (1:27) Alain Vigneault, (1:51) and Antti Raanta (2:15) (Official Team Site)
• He played 83 games for New York before the lockout, and came along in the Alex Kovalev trade from Pittsburgh. Yesterday's player in the picture was.....Dan LaCouture (Wikipedia)

Around the NHL:

• Frank Seravalli makes the argument for why Jaromir Jagr should be considered a top 10 player of all time (2:17 Video via TSN)
• Mike Halford relays news that Arizona Coyotes prospect Craig Cunningham has progressed well in his recovery, and should be released from the hospital in the next few days (NBC Sports)
• Jared Clinton lists the top five oldest NHLers to make their debuts in honor of Pat Cannone, 30, making his debut for the Minnesota Wild last night (The Hockey News)
• Josh Cooper goes through the top 10 biggest busts in hockey of 2016 (Puck Daddy)