BUFFALO — Yes sir, just like clockwork, you can count on Brad Richards to record a hat trick once every 896 games.
That’s how many matches, a career’s worth actually, it took Richards to get the first of his career, the milestone coming in Friday night’s 8-4 victory over the Sabres that gave the Rangers sole possession of eighth place with four games and a week to go in the season.
“I was joking with Doaner during the [CBA] meetings that I was coming up on him but that he had a couple of years on me,” Richards said to The Post in reference to the Coyotes’ Shane Doan, who last year recorded his first NHL hat trick in his 1,161st career match. “I know, ‘what took me so long?’ ”
The goals came in all shapes and sizes for Richards and for the Rangers against the shockingly sub-standard goaltending of both Ryan Miller and Jhonas Enroth in a contest that devolved into a bit of fiasco during and after a span of 2:58 bridging the first and second periods in which the Rangers scored five times on seven shots for a 5-0 lead.
Here’s a team — the Rangers, that is — that has scored 14 goals in its last two games including Thursday’s 6-1 victory at the Garden over the Panthers after having scored a sum of 14 in the six games before that.
Here’s a player — Richards, that is — who has scored four goals in those back-to-back victories after having scored four goals in the preceding 35 matches.
“I don’t really want to talk about it or jinx it, but if it’s back now, it’s a great thing to have at this time of year,” said the 32-year-old alternate captain. “I’m just trying to stay with it and plug away.”
The ninth-place Jets are two points behind the Rangers. The seventh-place Islanders are one point ahead of the Blueshirts. Those two clubs meet this afternoon in Winnipeg before the Devils come to the Garden tomorrow.
“It’s important that we don’t think too much about the standings,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who had a shutout for 33:50 but then yielded two goals within six seconds and three within 2:29 as Buffalo cut the Rangers’ edge to 6-2 and 7-3. “The pressure is going to get higher as it gets closer to the end so it’s important that we keep our eyes on what we have to do and not on what’s around us.”
Last night’s match was scoreless until 18:42 of the first when Carl Hagelin’s attempted centering feed to Callahan banked in off the skate of defenseman Adam Pardy. Richards got his first at 19:39 when an attempted back-door pass from the far right hash marks skittered through Miller’s wide open five-hole off the skate of defenseman Christian Ehrhoff.
Seconds later a clearly rattled Miller committed an egregious puck-handling gaffe, putting an attempted clear into the slot and directly onto the stick of Ryane Clowe, who slid home a backhand at 19:56 for a 3-0 lead.
The follies continued in the second period. Anton Stralman drove a right wing wrist shot past Miller that drove the goaltender from the net at 1:13. Enroth allowed a goal on the second shot he faced, Richards poking one in from the crease at 1:40 to establish a record for the fastest five goals in franchise history.
Rick Nash got the Rangers’ sixth goal and Callahan the seventh before Richards completed his hat trick with a floater that escaped Enroth’s glove at 12:32 of the third.
“They weren’t all classic goals, but we’re sure not to question them however they go in,” Callahan said after his team scored as many as eight goals for the first time since Nov. 14, 2010 in an 8-2 Garden victory over the Oilers.
Just like clockwork.
larry.brooks@nypost.com