Richards injured, then rout begins

The Lightning gets laid out shortly after the center leaves with a knee injury.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published December 11, 2007

TORONTO - The thud Brad Richards made when he crashed into the end boards was heard above the crowd at the Air Canada Centre.

More jarring was the sight of the Lightning center lying for several minutes on the ice and requiring help to shakily skate off and then get down the hallway to the trainer's room.

The scene with 11:28 left in the second period, and that Richards did not return because of an unspecified left knee injury, made even more depressing Monday night's 6-1 loss to the Maple Leafs.

"He's a big part of the team," center Vinny Lecavalier said. "Any time you lose a key player, a leader, it's definitely tough."

Tough is an understatement when describing Tampa Bay's road woes.

The team has lost five straight, is a league-worst 2-11-1 and allowed Toronto to break open a 0-0 game with four goals on seven shots in 4 minutes, 32 seconds of the second period.

Two goals came on the power play - notable because the Maple Leafs entered with the league's second-worst power play and on a 3-for-36 streak.

The final two goals came in 34 seconds and chased goaltender Johan Holmqvist with 5:19 left in the second period of the Lightning's fifth straight loss in Toronto.

Tampa Bay was 0-for-5 on the power play, and rookie defenseman Mike Lundin was minus-4.

"Let's just call a spade a spade," coach John Tortorella said. "It was just a good old-fashioned (expletive) kicking. It doesn't matter who went down or what happened. We'll just leave it at that."

Tortorella said he had "no idea" of Richards' status. The center, limping as he left the locker room, traveled with the team to Montreal, where it plays tonight.

Richards, 27, has played 520 NHL games without missing one to injury. He missed two in 2002-03 to attend his grandmother's funeral in his native Prince Edward Island.

If he is out, Tampa Bay will be without its best power-play quarterbacks as defenseman Dan Boyle is recovering from wrist tendon surgery. Richards also kills penalties and averages more than 25 minutes of ice time, tops among league forwards.

"It's too early to think about that," defenseman Brad Lukowich said of Richards missing time. "Hopefully, he'll be able to bounce back."

The play began with Richards skating in the slot and unable to hold a pass from Vinny Prospal. Richards went down, and with pursuing Toronto defenseman Tomas Kaberle on his back, slammed into the boards.

"I was lucky," Kaberle said. "We both went in there with a lot of speed. When I looked back, he was just lying there."

Trainer Tommy Mulligan attended to Richards. Teammates Marty St. Louis and Paul Ranger supported Richards' arms as he skated off to an ovation from the crowd of 19,454.

The Maple Leafs began their onslaught 103 seconds later.

Lukowich said the sight of Richards on the ice "hit hard" but said the team did not let down emotionally.

"We let down our goaltender," Lukowich said. "We made some bad plays. We can't point the finger at anyone but ourselves."

[Last modified December 11, 2007, 00:50:39]