"For the sixth time in six shootouts, the Rangers called on Brad Richards out of the two-hole.

For the sixth time in six shootouts, Richards, who came to New York this season with an estimable 25-for-60 mark (41.67 percent) in the skills competition, failed.

"It's definitely in my head a little bit," Richards told The Post after the Blueshirts' 4-3 defeat to the Devils in which Ilya Kovalchuk was the only player to score in the shootout. "You don't just go in with the same approach when you're 0-for-whatever.

"It hurts not to come through.""