Over the past few weeks the New York Rangers haven't been playing their best hockey, or at least haven't been playing to their capabilities. There are a number of things to point fingers at for the cause of this, but one of the major issues is the performance of their top players, or lack thereof. Center Brad Richards, who has just one point in his last 5 games, tops that list, and he will be the first to tell you that. But admitting that there is a problem and actually going out and correcting it are two very different things, and for Richards, that's something he's heavily struggled with for the past two weeks.
We’ve seen Richards struggle earlier in the season, and the resolution to the problem was to move him to the second line with Ryan Callahan where he would be forced to "grind-it-out" as head coach John Tortorella would put it. That worked for Richards as it brought his effort level up as well as his focus. With defense came offense for Broadway Brad, and quickly the points started racking up in the goal and assist columns. Lately, though, that was worn off and Richards finds himself in the midst of a mini-slump.
When he has been on this season, Richie has been extremely impactful for the Blueshirts. He has six game-winning goals on the season, and to me, that stat alone is impressive. In many ways Brad has been a clutch player for New York this season, as he always seems to score a goal when the Rangers most need it. Same goes for his passing, which has actually boosted the team's powerplay when it's actually functioned somewhat properly.
And now that I mention it, do you think it is a coincidence that the club's powerplay has hit a stalemate at the same time Richards' game has? I think not.
Brad's clutch play has won the Rangers many games this season, maybe not directly, but in one way or another. Lately the Rangers haven't been getting that sort of production from their top center and it has hurt them. Even his defensive play hasn't been up to par, and you only have to look as far as last night's 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens to realize that. He was only a minus-1 in the game, but he did blow a coverage on that one play.
All of this combined has taken a massive hit on Richards' confidence, and it has been blatantly obvious in his decision-making. Last night on the powerplay, for example, Richards had the puck in the offensive zone just to the side of the net, picked his head up and passed right to a Montreal defenseman that was stationed in the near circle. It may not seem like much of a big deal, but that's an error we normally aren't used to seeing Richards make.
Also, he must have made at least two no-look passes on the blue-line, which is as dangerous of a play as any in hockey. He definitely heard it from Tortorella after those.
Now there is something that needs to be addressed that may or may not be affecting Richards' game. Normally I do not discuss the personal lives of the players, more or less because I really don't care. As long as they come out and perform on the ice, I couldn't care less about what they do off of it. However, just recently news broke that Brad had split up with girlfriend Olivia Munn in a break-up that was her decision. I'm not trying to suggest anything, but I’m just putting it out there.
Whatever the cause is, Richards just needs to get back to basics. He and John Tortorella have a very tight relationship in which they can read each other quite easily. I have faith that they can work this out and get Richie back to scoring, but they need to do it sooner rather than later, because this team's poor efforts are beginning to become more frequent.
“Offensively, it’s a different type of game,” Richards said of the Rangers’ concept. “I’ve got to worry more personally about the other end of the ice and doing the little things right, and all that offense always comes. Sometimes you lose sight of that, trying to do too much offensively or cheating. So you take care all the other stuff and then eventually that stuff comes.” - Richards to the Daily News
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