Kings forward Mike Richards played only 9 minutes, 7 seconds in Thursday’s 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers, a season low. He was scoreless and has five goals and nine assists this season. His plus/minus defensive rating is minus-8. He and frequently-scratched forward Jordan Nolan skated Friday in yellow jerseys while the rest of the Kings’ forwards were grouped in threes in like-colored sweaters.

It led to speculation Friday that Richards could be scratched for Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, the first time he would miss a game for any reason since the 2011-12 season, after an off-season trade from the Philadelphia Flyers. Richards played all 41 games so far this season, after playing in all 82 last season and all 48 during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.

“I still, obviously, think I can play a lot more minutes,” Richards said after Friday’s practice. “But at the same time, you play what you’re put in a position of. I’m not going to cause a scene or doing anything to take the focus away from everything. I’m just going to come to the rink every day and play hockey. It is what it is, to be honest. You come here every day, you work, you get ready for a hockey game just like any other year or any other time, and that’s about all you can do.”