May 21 postgame quotes: Mike Richards

On getting off to a poor start in the Game 4 loss:
“We obviously, like you said, didn’t have a start that we wanted to. Just turning pucks over and slow moving. I think I got my pocket picked about three times in one shift, which is a little bit embarrassing. It just shows that you can’t play a half a hockey in the playoffs. I thought we did some good things in the second half of the game, and it’s something that we have to carry over Thursday night at home.”

On a more challenging playoff campaign than the 3-0 leads in each series last year:
“Yeah, you’re not supposed to do that.We’ve got some good character in here. It’s obviously a point where we have to look at things and see what we can do and look at what we did in the second half to have success, whether it be being aggressive down the wall and our third guy being a little bit more patient, not running around and giving them easy outs. I thought when we started playing more of our system and got our legs going, I thought we played well, and it might have been a little bit of them sitting back, but I think it was a lot of us, too, going forward.”

On whether there’s a reason behind the team’s struggles to score on the road:
“I don’t know the answer for you. I wish I did.”

On Darryl’s comment that “zero” momentum can be gained from one game to the next:
“There could, if you prepare right and know what you need to do, but you can’t take it for granted. It’s hard work what wedid in the second half of the game to give ourselves a little bit of success, and we only scored one goal. We have to prepare, get ready for the drop of the puck. It was one-nothing before we even knew what was going on out there. It’s just one of those things where we have to be ready. We’re comfortable at home, so I think that’s going to be a good thing. Obviously we have confidence there, too. So it’s just a matter of playing our game, and when we do that, we have success, and like I said, it might have been a little bit of them sitting back, but I think it was a lot of us pushing forward, too.”

On the team remaining within striking distance late without a full 60 minute effort:
“It is what it is. A loss is a loss. You can chop it up any way you want. It’s 2-2 going back home. Obviously it would’ve been nice to get one here, but like I said, it is what it is. We’re going home. We’re comfortable there, and we have to put together a full 60 minutes, which we haven’t done for a while.”