He has won fewer than 50 percent of his faceoffs.
They are our golden gods, Mike Richards and Chase Utley, handsome, hard-playing men for whom we seek explanations when things do not go well for them. We can't believe what we're seeing, so there must be some explanation other than that they can fail too, that they are, in fact, not gods.
"It's not the first time I've gone in a streak that I haven't scored," Richards was saying after practice yesterday. "I don't think I'm playing bad hockey."
His line, which consists of the team's two top scorers and Simon Gagne, has provided very little statistically this series. Jeff Carter has two points and is a minus-5. Gagne also has two points. It's hard to quantify just how much of Richards' struggles are his own, and how much is the by-product of playing with two forwards recovering from foot injuries. It's hard to even get a consensus on which of his wings has given him less, or been in his way more.
One veteran Toronto scribe thought Carter is too slow and bringing them down. Another noted what he thought was Gagne's unwillingness to crash the boards or fight for pucks. I think Carter's speed has been fine, but that he's fighting the puck.
"He still looks good out there to me," said Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, after noting that Carter has missed the equivalent of 2 months this spring because of those injuries. "He still looks like he can contribute."
Gagne seems slow to me, and lost without the puck. Bottom line is that neither's contributions justifies their playing time. Not even close.
Have they also affected Richards? Worn him down? Or is he part of the malaise?
