Heading into Game 7, intangibles on Richards’ side

Justin Williams draws the most attention for his Game 7 exploits – he averages two points per Game 7– but Mike Richards, like Williams and Marian Gaborik, also has a perfect 5-0 record in a series’ ultimate game.

“It’s not a position you want to put yourself in as many times as we have,” said Richards, who has three assists in five Game 7s. “But we’ve done a good job of staying in the moment, especially last series and even last night. Obviously our backs against the wall and we knew what we had to do. There was not much that needed to be said. It was a pretty quiet room last night. I think everyone was just ready to have a big game. We need to have that same mindset and same attitude tomorrow night, confidence, trust in one another and be excited a little bit, I think, for the game.

Though his production is down from previous seasons and postseasons, Richards was excellent in the final game of the San Jose series, registering eight shots on goal – more than twice as many as any other King.

His ice time has ranged widely in the Anaheim series. He continued his quality looks with four shots on goal and an assist in Game 1, in which he logged 19:27 in a game that went to overtime. After logging 18 minutes in Game 4, he was a minus-two in game five over his Los Angeles-low 9:50 of ice time. Through 13 playoff games, Richards has three points (1-2=3) and a minus-five rating.

One gets the sense, though, that the statistics logged through his first 13 games of the postseason mean little come Friday, and that his thorough experience in knockout games at the NHL, AHL and International levels give his intangibles a weightier relevance. He has won 23 playoff series through 13 junior and professional seasons, and his 0.72 points per game in the playoffs represents a slight increase from the 0.71 points per game he has averaged through his nine NHL regular seasons.

Though the regular season-postseason coring discrepancy isn’t as wide as it once was, there’s still the sense that Richards – like many Kings – is most comfortable playing in the spring months.

“We’re not a rah-rah team where you’re going to have one guy sit in front of the room and pump you up. Player or coach, I don’t think you’re going to get that either way,” Richards said. “Everyone is well aware of what they need to do. If you can’t get up for a Game 7, you probably shouldn’t be in the dressing room at that time. It’s exciting. To go to the Conference Finals, it’s a good challenge for us and it’s going to be fun tomorrow night. I think everybody loves it. I love playing in a Game 7.”

Mike Richards, on how the team has evolved after its Stanley Cup run:
It’s just confidence, I think. When you’ve done special things together, you the confidence no matter what happens to do that again. It’s a big thing in playoffs when you’re down in a game, down in a series. You’ve been through comebacks and good things with the guy beside you. It’s a good thing to lean on. It’s a nice feeling to have, that you have confidence that you can do whatever is needed to win.

Richards, on already having won a Game 7 on the road in the playoffs:
It’s just one game. You could bring confidence and excitement to the room. But at the end of the day it’s just one game and you have to play your best. I think it might help in the later stages of the game, whatever position you’re in. Going into the game, both teams are excited and looking forward to it. Obviously, both teams are going to be confident that they play well in Anaheim. We’ve had a little bit of success there too. It’s going to be a good match.

Richards, on whether it’s necessary to keep the excitement in check:
I don’t know if you need to. You use that excitement for energy. We’ve played well when we’ve been desperate and why not use that excitement to do positive things.

Richards, on Los Angeles’ play in its defensive zone:
I think what helped us last night was when they scored the goal and not letting it slide a little bit. We moved pucks out of our zone pretty quick and when you do that you don’t have to play in your zone. That’s the biggest thing, just make the simple play, move the puck up the ice and hit the open guy. It’s a pretty simple formula but it’s not as easy as it may sound. [Reporter: It looks like it’s been more of a challenge for you guys in this series.] That’s obviously a lot to do with Anaheim. Give credit where credit is due. It’s a tough forecheck to break as they come in with a lot of speed. I think last night it was defense – winger – defense – center – out of the zone. When you have that, you’re not having tired guys on the ice because you’re always going up the ice. I think that’s the big thing. They have a lot of speed and if you get caught out there tired it just seems like they’re coming at you full speed, which they do a lot. If we can move the puck up the ice and limit the time in our zone, they’re going to get chances, they’re going to have some momentum in the game at some points and we’re going to have to do the same thing. We just have to kind of limit the roller coaster and not be too high and not be too low.

Richards, on Jonathan Quick’s mentality in elimination games:
You guys see him every day, he’s pretty even keel no matter what happens. I think whenever you have a Game 7, you look for your best players to be your best players and he’s definitely one of those. [Reporter: Does he not talk on game days?] No, he’s as relaxed as they come. Obviously everybody is focused, but his mentality is always pretty close to being the same. Game 7, like I said, you have to have your best players be your best players and he’s one of those guys. He’s always stepped up to the challenge as have Kopi and Dewey. You can go right down the line with that. There’s not much that needs to be said to him. He understands what position we’re in. He’s obviously going to be there to bail us out if we need him. Hopefully we can get a couple to help him out too.

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