Brad Richards is taking to life as a big star in New York quite well.
He's showing up in Page Six for squiring starlets around town on his nights off and leading the Rangers to wins when he's working, something that's known as Jetering around these parts. Well, it's not really known as Jetering, but it should be especially when the Rangers are as hot as they are right now.
Richards broke a tie on Long Island with just under five minutes to play with a slap shot from the point and the Rangers added an empty netter to beat the Islanders 4-2 on Tuesday night.
That makes it seven straight wins for the Blueshirts and a second straight game with a goal for Richards who has shown a knack for coming up with points late in games.
That's why he's the owner of a shiny nine-year contract with the Rangers and it is part of the reason why the Rangers have been streaking their way through the NHL of late.
They desperately needed an infusion of the kind of talent that Richards brings to the ice, even if it hasn't come as part of a tandem with Marian Gaborik as everyone assumed it would.
Richards isn't the only reason for the hot streak, of course. As always, Henrik Lundqvist is in goal to take care of whatever things came his way.
He was sharp again on Tuesday, helping to kill too many Rangers penalties and heading pucks out of harm's way when the need arose. His play is exactly the same as it has been in the past few seasons, but the big difference is that the line between winning and losing isn't his and his alone.
After Lundqvist gave up a soft goal to tie the game at 1, the Rangers came back to grab the lead on a spectacular cross-ice pass from Ryan Callahan to Steve Eminger. It was the 10th goal of the season by a Rangers defenseman, a terrific total under any circumstances but a truly remarkable one for a group forced to play without Marc Staal all year.
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It's good times to be a Ranger and it will only get better if they can keep up this level of play for the long term. With no Knicks games on the horizon, the Rangers will have a chance to capture extra eyes this season if they are good enough to stay at the top of the standings.
It has only been two years since the Rangers won seven straight games, but it has been much longer since the Rangers have been able to be the biggest thing in town. They look capable of reaching that level again this year, especially with Richards providing the star power.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.
