NHL Goalie: Mike Richter Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pennsylvania

Mike Richter was born in Abington, Pennsylvania. He traveled much in his early life as he attended Northwood High School in New York and attended the University of Wisconsin. Despite his nomadic ways, he was a hot prospect that the New York Rangers could not pass on.

Answer: New York Rangers

The New York Rangers drafted Mike Richter knowing that they would get a solid performer capable of becoming a number one goaltender in short time. Little did they know that he'd be good enough to win the Stanley Cup in the 1993-94 season. As a result of his consistently skilled performances, he played the entirety of his 14-year NHL career for the Rangers of New York.

Answer: Doug Weight

The first penalty shot occurred on October 19, 1989. Richter stopped a shot by Kevin Dineen of the Hartford Whalers. The second penalty shot Richter faced was on January 14, 1990. He stopped a shot by Pelle Eklund of the Philadelphia Flyers. The third penalty shot against Richter occurred on November 27, 1991. Richter stopped a shot by Troy Murray of the Winnipeg Jets.

The fourth shot that Richter faced and stopped occurred on June 7, 1994, against Pavel Bure of the Vancouver Canucks. It was the only one he ever faced in the Stanley Cup final.

The fifth shot was against Steve Konowalchuk of the Washington Capitals on March 5, 1995. The sixth penalty shot was the lone penalty shot that Mike Richter ever conceded in his career. On October 8, 1997, Mike Richter was scored on by Doug Weight, a former teammate.

The seventh penalty shot was on January 10, 1998. He stopped a shot by Marc Bureau of the Montreal Canadiens. The eighth penalty shot occurred on October 22, 1998. He was one-on-one against Claude Lapointe of the New York Islanders. Richter stopped that by smothering the puck before it could go into the net.

The ninth shot occurred on November 11, 1999 against Richard Zednik of the Washington Capitals. The tenth penalty shot against Richter occurred on January 31, 2000, against Randy Robitaille of the Nashville Predators. The final penalty shot of his career was against Colin White of the New Jersey Devils on December 19, 2001. His total save percentage on penalty shots was 90.9% overall.

Answer: Edmonton Oilers and Nashville Predators

Despite playing his entire NHL career for the New York Rangers, Mike Richter was the property of two other NHL teams in his career. The first time he belonged to another team was when he was selected by the Nashville Predators in the expansion draft of 1998. Richter was cut and ended up re-signing with the Rangers.

The second time that he belonged to another team was when he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers on June 30, 2002, for future considerations. Richter was quickly snatched back up by the Rangers because the Oilers had little use for him.

Answer: No

His skill was great between the pipes, but his shutout abilities weren't as great. He never managed to record more than two consecutive shutouts, but he did manage to record consecutive shutouts three times. The first two were on April 17 and 18, 1994, both against the New York Islanders. Richter posted two consecutive 6-0 shutouts.

The next time he recorded two consecutive shutouts were on October 27 and 30, 1998. The first was in a 0-0 tie against Buffalo and the second was a 1-0 victory against Carolina.

The final time he compiled two consecutive shutouts was on November 29 and December 2, 2001. The first was a 5-0 routing of Carolina and the second was a 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay.

Answer: Nice try Bruce, Mike Richter never won a trophy!

Mike Richter was a long-time starter for a solid hockey organization, but he never received a trophy. He fell into fifth place in Vezina Trophy voting, in 1997, which is the closest he ever came to winning a major trophy. It actually is a surprise considering that he finished his career with 301 wins, 666 appearances, 38185 minutes played, 24 shutouts, and an impressive 0.904% save percentage.

His impact on the hockey world was not felt in his trophy winnings, but in his gameplay and work ethic.

Answer: Left knee

Mike Richter sprained his left knee on February 5, 2000. He injured it during a pre-game warm-up and could not play the game. He missed two games because of that small injury. After returning, he played in the all-star game and a further four games before having to leave in a February 18, 2000, match-up against the Colorado Avalanche.

He missed a further two games because of it. He then re-injured it on March 13, 2000, and then he re-injured it again on March 17, 2000. At the end of that season, Richter had successful knee surgery done.

In an ironic twist of fate, Mike Richter had a season ending knee injury in his other knee, the following year. Other injuries he sustained over his career included a bruised thigh, a pulled groin, a separated shoulder, a back injury, and a skull fracture.

Answer: The Save

Mike Richter was known as "The Save" after his stop on a penalty shot during the Stanley Cup finals in 1994. He made an absolutely fantastic save on Vancouver Canucks forward Pavel Bure on June 7, 1994. Bure fired a shot low right, but Richter somehow managed to launch his right pad out and stop the puck.

At the arena, the save met a standing ovation. Interestingly enough, Mike Richter made a similar save in a future all-star game, once again against Pavel Bure.

Answer: Rod Gilbert and Ed Giacomin

On February 4, 2004, Mike Richter's perseverance with the Rangers organization led to his number (35) being retired. He acknowledged the sold-out crowd and broke out in tears because the Rangers were such a large part of his life.

Rod Gilbert was a Rangers right winger who recorded 1021 points in 1065 games from 1960-1978. Ed Giacomin was a goaltender for the Rangers that played in approximately 500 games from 1965-1976. His number (1) was the first to be retired by the Rangers.

Jersey #99 worn by Wayne Gretzky was retired by the NHL in February 2000.

Answer: No

Mike Richter taught the youngster Dan Blackburn everything he knew. Blackburn played in 63 career NHL games, recording a 20-32-4 record, with a disappointing 3.22 goals against average, posting a 0.894% save percentage and one shutout. Blackburn was forced to end his hockey career, at the young age of 20 when he severely injured his left shoulder. That injury turned out to be a pinched nerve.

It prevented him from ever playing a professional sport again. Mike Richter was also forced to retire the same year that Blackburn retired, which left the New York Rangers depleted of goaltenders.

It was not until 2006 that the Rangers re-established themselves as the winning team they once used to be with the acquisition of up-and-coming Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.