Richards Sets Record vs. Rangers

NEW YORK ? Mike Richards saw an opportunity for a goal, but never envisioned going into the NHL record books Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

Richards became the first player in league history to score three, two-men shorthanded goals in a career, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

"Obviously, it's not something you try for," the 24-year-old said. "You pick your opportunities when you get it."

The historic, two-man, shorthanded goal came at 1:18 of the second period, giving the Flyers a 3-0 lead over the Rangers during a 5-2 victory. He leads the NHL with five shorthanded goals and now has 17 lifetime, shorthanded goals.

All three of 3-on-5 goals have come on the road. He first achieved the mark on Oct. 22, 2005 in Toronto, then duplicated the feat on Oct. 10, 2007 at Vancouver.

"I remember scoring the one, but not the other," Richards admitting he forgot about the goal in Toronto. "Sweet!"

On today's goal, Richards took a breakaway pass from Braydon Coburn that split Chris Drury and Michal Rozsival. Rushing hard to net, Richards wristed the puck high over Henrik Lundqvist.

"I saw Drury kinda creeping in to hold the puck and Cobie made a good play to get it to me," said the Kenora, Ont. native. "It was a little bit of a gamble to get it by [Drury]. With me leaving the zone, it would have been a 5-on-2. But I had confidence in him and he made a good play."

Terry Carkner was the first Flyer in history to score a goal skating two-men shorthanded. He did it against Washington on Dec. 5, 1991 at the Spectrum.