Brad Richards hasn't scored a goal in 13 straight games. He got off to a great start this campaign with two goals and four assists in his first five contests, but he hasn't generated much offense since. Richards has contributed just six helpers during his goalless stretch.

Brad Richards was demoted to the third line during Thursday night's shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators. The demotion comes after coach John Tortorella benched Richards for almost the entire third period of last Thursday's game against the Islanders. "We don't have enough guys playing," Tortorella said after the game. Richards has just two goals and 11 points in 16 games this season and has struggled with giveaways this season. His contract and his skill set means he'll keep getting chances on the top lines, but Torts isn't exactly a patient man.

Brad Richards was benched in the third period Thursday against the Islanders. The Rangers' marquee center had just 47 seconds of ice time, though he did play in overtime. Coach John Tortorella says he's struggling, which is evident on the power play, but it has nothing to do with effort. "I think I was just trying too hard," Richards said of the 3:29 he played on the power play. "Instead of moving the puck when I had it, I was trying too hard and that's why I got myself in jams. I'm smarter than that." Richards has 10 points on the year, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him come out improved in the team's next game.

Brad Richards has notched assists in each of his last three games. Richards has two goals and seven assists in 10 games in this shortened 48-game season. "This will be the hardest season for a lot of players, they haven't been through a lot of grinds and tests and then coming back and trying to do it again," Richards said. "It's hard and that's what happens as a group, not everybody is on the same page. It doesn't mean that no one's trying to be on the same page. But mentally and confidence-wise and feeling good about your game, that's been kind of here and there with different players at different times.

Brad Richards isn't allowing New York's slow start this season slip under the radar just because it's early. "Yeah, we can't use the early-in-the-season thing," he said. "The only good thing is we're only four points out of the division [lead], but it's going to come quick and you can't let it snowball. You don't want to do that anyway in an 82-game season but with only 46 games left, it's got to be corrected quickly." Despite his team's 0-2-0 start, Richards has been productive with a goal and two assists so far. The Rangers will be looking for their first win when they host Boston on Wednesday.

Brad Richards scored a goal in the New York Rangers' 3-1 loss against the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Rick Nash and Dan Girardi assisted on Richards' goal. Nash, Richards, and Gaborik combined for seven shots on goal, but Rask and the Bruins managed to largely neutralize them. There will be other games where the Rangers' big three put up some very impressive numbers.

Brad Richards (flu) skated on his own at the Rangers' practice facility on Wednesday. He missed the first three days of training camp with the flu and didn't skate with his teammates because they were doing off-ice work. "Obviously, I would have liked to have been here the last three days but there's only so much you're going to get out of practice, anyway," Richards said. "In the big scheme of things, three days is probably not going to make a big difference." He should be fine now to skate on Thursday with his teammates and finally get some work in with new linemate Rick Nash.

Brad Richards didn't skate again Tuesday as he fights through a nasty case of the flu. John Tortorella continues to say he's not concerned by Richards' absence, although it would be nice for him to get more ice time with new linemate Rick Nash. The Rangers are scheduled for only off-ice work Wednesday, meaning Richards won't likely return to on-ice work until Thursday at the earliest. We wouldn't let this sickness affect your draft ranking for Richards since he'll most likely be 100 percent by the time the season opens Saturday.

Brad Richards did not skate for a second straight day on Monday because of the flu. However, coach John Tortorella isn't concerned that Richards is missing time to mesh with new linemate Rick Nash. "Richie knows our concept," Tortorella said. "He was one of the guys who spent a lot of time during the lockout taking care of his business, his conditioning. Do we want him here? Yes. Is it a major concern? No."

Brad Richards missed the start of training camp due to the flu. Consider Richards day-to-day for now. Given that the start of the season is still a week away, he probably won't miss any playing time.