Carter on Richards, upcoming stretch of hockey

It’s not exactly a secret that Mike Richards and Jeff Carter are friends; the two were born six weeks apart, were drafted in the first round of the 2003 NHL Draft, played OHL hockey against each other and made their professional debuts during the Philadelphia Phantoms’ 2005 championship run. They were even traded on the same day by the Flyers in 2011 – Richards to the Kings and Carter to the Blue Jackets – before they were reunited later that year when Carter was eventually shipped to Los Angeles. So, yeah, it’s safe to say there’s a linked history between the two key forwards.

But Richards’ popularity with his teammates carries much farther beyond Carter’s stall on the opposite width of the Kings’ room. From the coaches, to teammates, to the hockey operations and support staffs, yesterday wasn’t the easiest day of the season as the club said an indefinite good-bye to a very popular player and two-time Stanley Cup winner. Sure, there’s the potential that Richards attacks his Manchester assignment with gusto and rejoins the Kings later this season – it’s more or less a certainty that Richards would be recalled should Los Angeles qualify for the playoffs – but yesterday’s developments represented a low water mark on the season.

“I think it’s tough obviously,” said Carter, who said that he saw Richards on Monday night.

“We’ve got a pretty close team in here. Anytime anybody leaves, it’s always tough. We understand that those things happen, but he brought a lot to this room and a lot of stuff that, unless you’re in this room, you don’t see. It was tough. It was tough on him too, I know. But it’s an opportunity for someone else to step up and some younger guys to play a little more and become leaders in the room and all of that.”

Richards, who will report to Manchester on Wednesday, understands the situation, as Carter alluded to.

“I think he’s alright,” he said. “Obviously, nobody wants to get sent down. It’s the [lousy] part of the game. I think he’s handled it well. He’s been around a long time and he knows how it works. So I’m sure he’ll work hard and we’ll see him again soon.”

“Teams aren’t playing well these things happen, right? That’s the way it goes.”

Jeff Carter, on the importance of the upcoming stretch of games:
Yeah, it’s big. We’re not in the position we’d like to be in and we’re running out of games. Everybody in this room knows that. We know what we have to do to get going and we’ve got to get to it.

Carter, on whether the team has struggled with consistency:
It’s been a lot of ups and downs. For whatever reason…we’ve had stretches before where we haven’t been that good, but we seem to pull out games or whatnot. We will get back to basics and just get back to playing the way that we’ve been successful at.

Carter, on whether he is surprised at this season’s record on the road:
Yeah, I guess. I mean it goes back to what we were just talking about, consistency. You win a cup and everyone is trying to beat you and getting up for the games. [Reporter: You’re not getting anybody’s worst game, are you?] No, we’re getting them all. It’s just another thing. We need to simplify our game and get back to what we’ve been doing.

Carter, on whether the team feels like a family:
Like I said, we understand that it happens and that’s the way it goes, but you never want to see anybody leave. It’s tough, but it’s the way it goes.