By the numbers: Richardson’s unlikely four-goal outburst

Arizona Coyotes forward Brad Richardson isn’t exactly known for his scoring ability, but the 34-year-old sent a buzz around the league on Thursday night with his four-goal performance in a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Richardson entered Thursday's game in the midst of his best goal-scoring season in over 10 years – with 12 goals. In just one game, the 34-year-old topped his entire goal total from last season (three) and set a new career-high for goals in a season.

The day didn’t get off to the best start for him either and he said post-game he wasn't in the best mood when he got to the rink.

“I was pissed when I got here. I hadn’t napped," he told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. "Maybe I’ll keep the trend going,” 

The accomplishment on Thursday may be all the more impressive given the reason Richardson didn't get his usual nap in.

“I got punched in the face last game and I can’t breathe out of my nose. So, I think it was something with that,” he explained.

Despite his banged up nose, Richardson joined a pretty exclusive list of players who have scored four goals in a game at the age of 34 or older, joining Mats Sundin, Patrick Marleau, Martin St. Louis, Alex Kovalev, Scott Mellanby, Brett Hull and Dave Andreychuk to do so since 1998-99.

He is also just the seventh player in Coyotes franchise history to record four or more goals in a game and the first to do it since Keith Tkachuk scored four in 1997.

He admitted that he was still looking for more after scoring his fourth with just under 12 minutes left in the game.

“Six would’ve been nice,” he joked. “I thought Vinnie [Hinostroza] and [Richard Panik] had quite a few chances, too. It was a good night, it could’ve been really good, but the two points [in the standings] is the big thing.”

With Thursday's performance, Richardson became the Coyotes leader in goals this season with one more than Alex Glachenyuk.

Prior to Thursday, Richardson’s last hat trick was on Oct. 23, 2010, when he scored three goals against the Colorado Avalanche while playing for the Los Angeles Kings.