Brad Richards is used to this situation, preparing for his 16th career playoff series, but he is not familiar with the position he has been placed in. Or more accurately, the position Rangers coach John Tortorella was practically forced to put him in.
For the past two games, Richards has been relegated to the fourth line, playing an average of 10:23 while centering Arron Asham and Chris Kreider, after five forgettable games to open the opening round series against Washington.
The 32-year-old, in the second-year of a nine-year, $60 million contract, has been skating with speed that seems sapped, making his Conn Smythe spring feel 90 years ago instead of nine after finishing the seven-game series win with one goal — his only point — while averaging two shots per game.
Heading into Thursday night’s first game of the conference semifinals in Boston, Richards said he believes a bounce-back, or a throwback, is just a mentality away.
“I can help me,” Richards said after Wednesday’s practice. “I’ll figure it out.”
Finding what used to come naturally to Richards could be more challenging playing alongside new linemates without the skill he is accustomed to seeing on each side. So, he’s attempting to simplify what he does on the ice. And it begins with opportunities.
“I’m not going to bash my linemates like that, but it’s a little more simple, a little more straightforward than some other ways to play,” said Richards, who noted it’s a big difference playing on the new line. “But this time of season, a lot of that other stuff doesn’t work anyway. It’s got to be straightforward, it’s got to be to get shots when you can and drive to the net and try to just create more.”
The Rangers got goals from 11 different players in the first round, though none from the team’s regular season leader Rick Nash, but Tortorella doesn’t think that replaces what the team needs from the big names or change what those names expect from themselves.
“I think higher end guys are higher end guys because they want pressure, they want the responsibility,” Tortorella said. “For the top-end guys, that’s why they are where they are as top players because they want that, so I don’t think it takes any pressure off them. I think they want to be a person that can make the difference.”
Krieder, who assisted on Asham’s opening goal of Game 7, thinks their line can be a difference. And he is looking to benefit from a center with 90 games of playoff experience.
“You just try to learn from him,” Kreider said of Richards. “He’s such a capable player, so you just try to get open. He can find people. He sees the ice so well. You just play simple, play your game and get out of his way.”