One on one with �� Brad Richards, C, Lightning - NHL - Interview

TSN: Your team got off to a great start but has struggled lately. Were you too confident?

BB: Maybe at times it was too easy. We played so many home games. We knew it was going to get tough, and that's what we are going through now. The best thing might have been to have a balanced schedule at the beginning so that everything was evened out.

TSN: You have been critical of yourself for your individual scoring struggles. Is the game more mental than physical?

BR: Yes, definitely. Especially the last two years. My rookie year I had fun. My second and third years, I had some ups and downs. The big thing is maintaining confidence. It's easy to second-guess yourself.

TSN: Can you explain how an entire good, young offensive unit like your team has can get in a funk at the same time?

BR: No! It's weird. Last year, we had a bunch of 70-point scorers (four, the most in the NHL). Not all of us were going at one time, but we were having success. Between all of us, especially the bigger guys, we're not doing much lately.

TSN: Whom do you have the best chemistry with and why?

BR: Marty (St. Louis), Freddy Modin and I have played the most together. We understand each other. Chemistry helps, but if you're struggling, you can't wait forever to change things up.

TSN: Is the sky the limit for this team? Can the Lightning win the Stanley Cup?

BR: Well, yeah. We just have a lot of things to work on before that. We want to win the division, get home-ice (advantage), so that the great fans in Tampa can give us the boost. You never know what's going to happen. We know what it's all about from last year, and Anaheim and New Jersey proved it's all about teamwork and playing your best.

TSN: Coach John Tortorella is not soft in making the tough decisions. What is your relationship with him?

BR: He's really quiet and keeps to himself for the most part. I don't know too many other coaches, but he's prepared. He loves to watch video. He's a very emotional guy, though. In some ways, he's a players coach; in some ways he's not.

TSN: Does it bother you that hockey is treated like a second-rate sport by a lot of media in the United States?

BR: People miss out on how good it is because they weren't bred into it. Our playoffs are the best and most intense, and there isn't a better format. I love watching football, but hockey is what I am. We do get frustrated sometimes by the lack of coverage or interest here.

TSN: Do you guys have a trash talker on the Lightning like Warren Sapp of the Buccaneers?

BR: (Laughing) I can't imagine there are too many other guys like him out there. That doesn't happen as much in hockey. There just isn't a lot of trash-talking. While I'm not a guy that fights, it helps that we police ourselves.

TSN: What's your favorite thing to do away from the ice to relax?

BR: Golf. If we can tee it up, we do, and Tampa's great for that. We play more in the offseason because of our schedule. Mostly during the season, I just try and relax if there's a day off.

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Maple Leafs winner of the Hart Trophy (league MVP) since 1924, when it was first awarded. Leafs captain Mats Sundin had 27 points in the first 22 games after holding a players-only meeting following a 3-2 loss November 20 in Edmonton. After the meeting, the Leafs went on an NHL record-tying 16-game points streak. Sundin--long considered one of the best players on the game but overlooked for Hart nominations despite playing in an influential, hockey mad city--is a leading MVP candidate this season.

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