Richards showed `character’ in scrap

The sight required a bit of a double take at first. Was that really Mike Richards dropping the glove to fight Dallas’ Steve Ott late in the first period? Actually, Richards’ NHL history shows that he’s good for a handful of fights every season, and while the bout didn’t pay immediate dividends for the Kings on the scoreboard — and wasn’t exactly a great penalty-box trade-off for the Kings, in terms of talent — Terry Murray was impressed with Richards’ willingness to engage in the rough stuff.

MURRAY: “Those are the instincts that come out of his game; that’s who he is. He’s a talented guy but what makes Mike Richards a special player is his character, his leadership, and then the instinctive part of his game where he reacts and takes care of business in all areas of the game what he has to, which means fighting sometimes or saying something, doing something, blocking a big shot. Whatever it might be, he has that innate ability to recognize it and to be able to go out and do it. That’s why we’re excited to have him.’’