Love Mike Richards, love him not

Los Angeles Kings coach Terry Murray has ridden the Murray Go-Round once or twice.

The former Flyers bench boss is closing in on his 1,000th NHL game. He is now in his fourth season with his fourth franchise.

On Saturday, after his Kings topped the Flyers in overtime in an emotionally charged contest for October, Murray acknowledged the fans' generally warm reception for Mike Richards when he was recognized during a stoppage in play in the first period.

"I was happy to see the Flyer fans receive him the way they did at the beginning of the game," Murray said. "That was class. Once the game starts, there [was] a little bit of a change, but that's OK."

Murray's explanation was interesting.

"That's hockey, that's sports," Murray said.

Normally, it would be: "That's Philadelphia fans for you."

Murray knows better than that.

Besides, anyone who said that would be wrong. What did we learn about Richards' homecoming this weekend? It was jarring. It was awkward, like watching a recently divorced couple run into each other in the supermarket for the first time, except that this supermarket was an arena filled with 19,644 onlookers.

The Flyers have moved on. Richards clearly hasn't. And that's fine. The bitterness is understandable for a player who signed a 12-year deal in 2007.

It was obvious not only in his media availability but also in his on-ice skirmishes. He tussled with Chris Pronger, nearly dropped the gloves with Wayne Simmonds, and at one point briefly grabbed Claude Giroux in the neck after taunting him during a faceoff.

He then stood and trash-talked center Zac Rinaldo in front of the Flyers' bench during a timeout, saying after the game that Rinaldo was a "guy who didn't play much" last year.

And what about the fans? Most cheered Richards' welcome because of his leave-it-all-on-the-ice mentality that initially made him the 17th Flyers captain in team history at the ripe age of 23.

A big portion of fans booed every time Richards touched the puck. But these weren't your typical boo-birds. Name the last time Flyers fans booed a well-liked player returning for the first time. You can't do it. The rousing reception Simon Gagne received last year in his first trip "home," as he called it, made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

So, why did they boo on Saturday? Did they not remember Richards' mostly fruitful tenure, where they fell two games short of a Stanley Cup? Was the image of his diving triumph over Montreal's Jaroslav Halak in the 2010 Eastern Conference final that forgettable?

One reader, Flyers fan Erin Troy, dropped an email to explain it all better than I ever could.

"It wasn't because we're all classless and miserable people," Troy wrote. "Look at how Lappy [Ian Laperriere] gets treated, he barely played a year and never won a thing here.

"It's not because he's on a new team or because the media taught us to hate him. Most of us dislike you media guys anyway. It's because we're knowledgeable and we saw what happened, we saw the change in Richards, we saw the disrespect that he had in management, for his coach, some of his teammates. We saw his work ethic diminish by the day, we saw him disappear from practice, disappear from interviews.

"Hell, we noticed when he refused to wear Flyers gear in the locker room but has so willingly agreed to throw on an LA Kings hat during interviews. We respect people that deserve respect.

"This isn't a case of typical Philadelphia boo-birds, but a case of die-hards who recognize that he cashed out on this team and these fans a long time ago."

It all makes sense.

We also learned just how miserable last season was for Richards. His tension with Peter Laviolette was very real, so were the rumored factions in the Flyers' locker room. Given three chances to endorse him at a practice last week, Laviolette would say little more than that he wasn't here for much of Richards' tenure.

"You can focus in putting the energy on the ice, instead of wasting a lot of it off," Richards said about his time in LA so far last Friday. "It's fun coming to the rink again. You don't have to worry about anything. It's not little groups anymore, it's just one big group."

On Saturday, Richards shrugged it all off - as usual. Somehow, it was the media's fault. Somehow, the fans' reaction meant nothing.

"I've been booed everywhere," Richards said. "I've been cheered in a couple places. It wasn't a big deal. I think from a media standpoint, everyone tries to blow things up a little bit more than it is and for me, it was just another game."

Richards wanted to be a fan favorite, an adopted Philadelphian to be remembered like Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent. But for as hard as Richards played on the ice, he did everything he could to make himself unlikable off it.

Even coming from the most stoic of players, no Philly fan is dumb enough to believe those words. They weren't real. Those boos cut to the core. And he doesn't have anyone to blame but himself.

ON-ICE

STAT WATCH

1-7-2: The Flyers' record in Ottawa since 2006. They were outscored, 9-3, in both of their matchups last year in Canada's capital city, despite the fact that Ottawa finished in 30th place in the NHL.

57: Games defenseman Matt Carle went without a goal, dating back to Dec. 5, 2010, before sneaking a shot past Jonathan Quick on Saturday in the Flyers' 3-2 overtime loss to Los Angeles.

67: Shots the Flyers directed at Quick, including 34 shots on net, 22 that were blocked and 11 that missed the net.

DID YOU NOTICE

That the Flyers have lost their last three games against Los Angeles that have gone to overtime? The last time they beat the Kings in overtime was Oct. 10, 1996. Saturday was the Flyers' only meeting with Los Angeles this season.

CAP CENTS

The Flyers are currently one of three NHL teams, including Vancouver and Washington, to be exceeding the league's daily salary-cap spending limit. The Flyers are spending approximately $343,415 per day against the limit of $339,986, but thanks to having Ian Laperriere on the long-term injured reserve list, are allowed to exceed the daily cap by $6,343. The Capitals and Canucks also use the long-term injury exception to remain cap compliant.

PHANTOMS PHOCUS

Despite being picked to finish last in the AHL's Eastern Conference by The Hockey News, the Phantoms improved to the 3-1 on the young season with a 5-1 win over Bridgeport yesterday in Connecticut. Brayden Schenn, who netted a hat trick Friday night in just his second career AHL game, has been the big story. Schenn, 20, has seven points (four goals, three assists) in four games since being sent down following the Flyers' training camp. Veteran Denis Hamel, 34, is also in the Top 10 in league scoring with seven points. Hamel, a solid mentor for the young guns on the farm, has 60 points in 71 games since signing with the team as a free agent. Michael Leighton is 3-0-0 with a .915 save percentage in net.

- Frank Seravalli