What we learned from the past week in the NHL:
•Mike Richards' return to the NHL has had a good start. Richards, who signed with the Washington Capitals after the Kings voided his contract and he became a free agent, played 13 minutes and one second Saturday as a fourth-line center in a 4-1 loss at Buffalo. The next day, he played 11:47 in a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers and won 14 of 20 faceoffs. "When a guy who hasn't played for eight or nine months comes in and is one of your better players, that doesn't say much about us.