Richards had 25 goals and 41 assists in 82 games this season. (Getty Images)

When the New York Rangers pursued and eventually signed Brad Richards on the free-agent market last season, the idea was that he was going to be one of the missing pieces, a player that would come in and give them the offense they had been lacking to support the strong defense and goaltending.

He was the best option on the market in terms of proven offensive ability. It was only a bonus that he had experience not only in winning a Stanley Cup before with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but winning it with now-Rangers head coach John Tortorella.

Aside from Mike Rupp and Ruslan Fedotenko, Richards is the only player on the roster who has experienced hoisting Lord Stanley's holy grail, doing it alongside Fedotenko on the 2003-04 Lightning team. So naturally, comparisons are going to be made between that champion team and the one the Rangers have assembled now.

"Well, obviously there's some similarities because the coach, what he brings to the team, how he wants you to play," Richards said on a conference call Monday. "The personnel is different. This group's probably maybe overall a little younger. But we've played that way all year. We can't get away from that. These young guys have bought into it. It's a team-first defensive-minded, grind-it-out type of style. It's worked. I think everybody has bought into it.

"It's a little different than obviously Tampa. Can't really compare the two. As far as the coach, young guys buying into what he's believing in."

In that Cup run, Richards was better in the postseason than he was in the regular campaign. He had 26 points on 12 goals 14 assists for the Lightning in 23 playoff games. That earned him the Conn Smythe as the playoffs MVP.

In total, he has been a point-per-game player in his postseason career, 62 points in 63 games with both Tampa Bay and Dallas.

That's why the Rangers brought him to New York, the offensive power, and not just for the playoffs. Richards might not have met the expectations for him this season, but the end gain was met this season for the Rangers. They enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, drawing a first-round matchup with the Senators.

One regard though where the Rangers haven't been able to turn it on is the power play. It was a unit that struggled all season, even with Richards and Marian Gaborik on the ice. It was better down the stretch, but it's something that needs to perform at a higher level. Power plays always seem to be even more crucial in the postseason.

"We've been working on it all year," Richards said. "Overall, if you look at all 82 games, it hasn't been a good percentage. But I think from March 1st on, we're over 20 percent. That's what we're going to keep building on. When we need it down the stretch, it's been there for us."

But altogether, the Rangers are in a position to do exactly what they hoped when the signed Richards, and that's compete for the Cup. The dreams of winning it aren't far-fetched. They're so close that Richards has even thought about going through the streets of Manhattan like the other champions of New York City.

"Happened a few times," Richards admitted. "Can't get too far ahead, though."

He knows what it's like to lift the Cup. What he doesn't know is what it feels like to lift the Cup in a city like New York. Everybody on the Rangers subway bandwagon is hoping he finds out in a matter of months.

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