It didn't leave any time for any sort of pregame routine, especially the crucial nap high-level players have become accustomed to.
When asked if he's had a scramble like that in a while, Richards said, "No, I haven't -- not since AAA here in Columbus."
Sunday was a much more normal day, complete with his usual nap and stretching routine, and it showed. Richards notched his first assist as a Blue Jacket -- and the second in three career NHL games -- as Columbus posted a 4-3 overtime victory against the Ottawa Senators.
His father, who is second all-time in wins among Blue Jackets coaches and led the team to a playoff appearance in 2014, was unable to attend the two games in Columbus because of his coaching duties with Nashville, where he is an assistant coach.
But the younger Richards still had his mother, Maryann, in Nationwide Arena for support, and it felt like he was back home given the number of people he still knows in Central Ohio and his memories of the downtown barn growing up.
"I spent a lot of time in Nationwide when my dad was here and shared a lot of special moments with the fans at the time," the 25-year-old said. "It was special to go out and play on the ice in front of the same fans."
While Richards was returned to Cleveland this afternoon, the chance to play in the building he grew up in was always a possibility since Richards signed with the Blue Jackets amid a rash of injuries in December. Before that, he signed an AHL deal in the summer with Cleveland after spending two years with the Rangers organization.
Richards made his NHL debut with one game at the end of the 2021 season, notching an assist in his line game with New York, but spent most of the past two seasons with Hartford of the AHL, posting 10 goals and 27 points in 87 games.
He blew by those numbers this year in Cleveland, posting a 10-25-35 line in 54 games and becoming a key part of the Monsters as the squad battled for a playoff berth all season. As the year went on, especially after he signed an NHL with the Blue Jackets, it was clear he had started to catch some eyes in the organization.
"He's a hustler," Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen said. "You see his great effort all over the ice. He's going to work both ends of the ice. He's earned his call-up here, talking to (head coach Trent Vogelhuber) and what he's done, his whole body of work in Cleveland. He's had a real solid year for them."
That effort has been a calling card of Richards' game his entire career. He spent three seasons playing college hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, serving as an alternate captain his final season of 2019-20 and winning NCAA championships the two years prior. In both 2019 and 2020, Richards was named the top defensive forward in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
If that sounds like the son of a coach, Richards can't help but smile.
"Yeah, I've heard that," Richards said. "I try to be a two-way forward, taking care of the D-zone first and then going and playing offense. That's something I'm very proud of in my game, and I try to show that every night."
Richards hopes he showed he belongs in his cameo at the NHL level. In the meantime, he always has the help of his dad, who wasn't able to be in Columbus for the games this weekend but still was able to watch.
"He was very supportive of me, obviously," Justin said of Todd, who was head coach of the Jackets from January 2012 to October 2015. "And he was happy for me, happy to watch and stuff. And he critiques me a little bit because that's who he is. He's a coach."
