Coach John Tortorella is confident that Brad Richards will rebound from his lackluster performance on Wednesday when the Rangers play at New Jersey in Game 6 Friday. He played a postseason-low 16:11 of ice time, while posting a minus-2 rating and four shots, in Game 5's 5-3 loss to the Devils. Tortorella commented that Richards "will find his way. I know his makeup." The team's top center has elevated his game when it has mattered most during New York's playoff run and they'll need him to step up again to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Richards leads the team in playoff scoring with six goals and 14 points in 19 games, but he hasn't been able to find the back of the net versus New Jersey so far in the series.

The New Jersey Devils are slight favorites to beat the visiting New York Rangers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference final series today but Rangers star Brad Richards thinks his team will come out flying. The Rangers dropped Wednesday's Game 2, 3-2, as they were generally outworked. "We needed a day off, it was nice," Richards said. "We just played a seven-game series [against the Capitals] and we had one day in between. It was good to get away from it for a day." The Rangers have alternated wins and losses since winning Game 1 of the second round against the Capitals.

Brad Richards didn't have a point or a shot in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night. He did enjoy a strong night in the faceoff circle though with 14 wins on 21 draws. Richards played 20:58 of ice time against the Devils and will likely make his presence felt on the scoreboard before the end of the series.

The New York Rangers have had a dearth of scoring in the post-season but star center Brad Richards says the team's philosophy won't change tonight, when they meet the Washington Capitals in the seventh and final game of their playoff series. "We'd like to get out and score three or four goals in the first period, but winning 1-0 is the same as winning 5-1," said Brad Richards, whose team has not scored a pure five-on-five goal over the last 144:52. "We're not going to abandon our structure just because people are writing about a lack of scoring." The Rangers have held the lead for a total of 22 minutes over the last five games, have not held the lead at all in any of the three games they have lost, and have not held a third period lead for so much as a second after Game 1.

Brad Richards came up big for the Rangers again in Monday's come-from-behind win over Washington in Game 5. He tied the game with just seven seconds remaining in regulation, while the Rangers were up by a pair of men thanks to a double-minor penalty for high sticking, which helped lead to Marc Staal's game-winner in overtime. It was Richards' first shot on goal of the match, but it couldn't have come at a better time. He was also a huge part of getting the Blueshirts into the second round to begin with because of the two points he produced in Game 6 against Ottawa, during the quarterfinals, to force a deciding Game 7. Richards has five goals and five assists in 12 playoff contests.

Center Brad Richards took the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP on Tampa Bay's 2004 Stanley Cup-winning team but had not been in the playoffs since 2008 with the Dallas Stars. He has made up for lost time in his first season in New York, standing out as the Blueshirts' most consistent and effective forward going into Game 4 Saturday afternoon against the Capitals, with the Rangers up 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. Well, he has made up for lost time in his first season in New York, standing out as the Rangers' most consistent and effective forward going into Game 4 this afternoon against the Capitals, with the Rangers up 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. Richards is fourth in the NHL in blocked shots among forwards (14), the Rangers' primary faceoff man and has a league-high 43 shots on goal in the playoffs. "It's a different type of year, a different feeling - I love it," the 11th-year NHLer said. "I think not being in it for a few years, I appreciate it even more, because the greatest feeling we have as players is getting a chance to close out a series or overtime like the other night, with (Marian Gaborik) scoring (to win in Triple overtime." The goal was set up on a crisp Richards pass. "You can see, (Richards) kind of glows with confidence out there," said fourth-line center John Mitchell.

Brad Richards scored a goal and added an assist, but the Rangers were on the wrong end of a 3-2 score against the Capitals Monday night. Despite a somewhat disappointing regular season effort of 66 points, Richards has picked up the slack in the playoffs with a team-leading eight points in nine contests. Ryan Callahan also contributed to the cause with hos third goal of the postseason while Michael Del Zotto recorded a pair of assists in the losing effort.

The New York Rangers will be looking for Brad Richards to step up again in Game 7 on Thursday night against Ottawa. He generated a goal and an assist in Monday's 3-2 triumph in Game 6 to help the Rangers force a series-deciding contest back on home ice. Richards has displayed a penchant for coming up big in key situations in the past and he'll get the opportunity to be a hero again on Thursday.

Brad Richards assisted on two goals, both scored in the first period, but he and the New York Rangers wound up on the losing end of a 3-2 overtime game in Ottawa Wednesday night. The Sens tied the teams' opening-round playoff series at 2-2, with Game 5 set for Saturday. Martin Gaborik also had two assists for the Rangers. The assists by Gaborik and Richards set up goals by Anton Stralman and Ryan Callahan.

Brad Richards scored a goal in the Rangers' 4-2 victory over Ottawa in Game 1 on Thursday. Richards hasn't been to the postseason since 2007-08, but he traditionally rises to the occasion. He was a huge part of Tampa Bay's 2004 Stanley Cup run, scoring 12 goals and 26 points in 23 games. Overall, he has 63 points in 64 playoff contests.