Matt Murley and Patrick Eaves scored for the Hurricanes, who are winless in three preseason games.
Both goaltenders went the distance, with Philadelphia's Martin Biron making 25 saves and Cam Ward stopping 27 shots.
Philadelphia's Simon Gagne, who missed 57 games last season because of concussion-related symptons, appeared in his first game. He had an assist playing on a line with Richards and Daniel Briere.
The Flyers played at the Spectrum, which will be demolished in 2009, from their inception in 1967 until the end of the 1995-96 season. Philadelphia now plays regular-season home games across the street at the Wachovia Center.
After Coburn and Lupul scored on power plays early in the first period, Richards scored short-handed to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead at 19:19. He added another goal at 4:42 of the third.
Murley flipped a shot in with 1 second left in the first, and Eaves scored high over Biron's glove at 4:33 of the second period to make it 3-2.
Eleven of the former 15 captains in Flyers history were honored in pregame ceremonies. They included Lou Angotti, the team's first captain in 1967-68; Bob Clarke, captain of the Stanley Cup championship teams in 1974 and 1975; Kevin Dineen (1993-94), and Keith Primeau (2001-06). Dineen and Primeau also served as captains of the Hurricanes.
