Tale of 2 Captains..Mike Richards crying foul

Last night the Penguins took it to the Flyers. They outplayed them, won the battles, out physicalled them, had better goaltending, and played smarter hockey. The final score reflected it..5-1 Pens. So what do you think Flyers Captain Mike Richards had to say after the game? Maybe he gave the Penguins credit? Maybe he agreed the Pens played a solid game? Nope! Richards proceeded to cry about the officiating and specifically Matt Cooke.

Lets compare this to the Pens Captain and leader, Sidney Crosby. After the season opener in which the Flyers beat the Penguins, 3-2, this is what Crosby had to say...
"We hit some posts, took some shots he didn't see. We did some good things. You want to win the first one, every guy in here wants to, everyone that came tonight wanted to see us win it. But that's the game. It's unfortunate."
Now that is a leader. He pointed out the good things and tried to find something to build on. He didnt slam the Flyers. He didnt blame the refs. He didnt make excuses.

Mike Richards took the other road. He claims he chased Matt Cooke around last year wanting to fight but when Matt Cooke called him out last night, Richards wanted nothing to do with him. His reasoning was..when Sidney Crosby fights Daniel Carcillo, he will fight matt Cooke. Well, Richards, dont flatter yourself. NOone will EVER mistake you for Sidney Crosby. You are not even in his league!

Richards on the penalties the Flyers took and specifically about Lovejoy..."It's tough when you play Pittsburgh. You know they are going to be falling down pretty easy"...Well Richards, lets see if you fall down when someone jams their stick blade into you mid section.

So while Richards might be fueling the fans in Philly and making excuses, he is the captain of the team and the supposed leader. It's time to stop making excuses