Norris gets first NHL hat trick, Senators defeat Red Wings

OTTAWA --Josh Norris scored his first NHL hat trick, and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday.

Norris gave Ottawa a 2-1 lead at 2:32 of the second period with a wrist shot from the slot on the power play. He then made it 3-1 at 14:16, batting the puck out of the air after it hit Detroit defenseman Jake Walman in front, and extended the lead to 4-2 at 18:23 of the third period with an empty-net goal.
The Oxford, Michigan, native said it was "extra special" to accomplish the feat against his childhood team.
"I went to my fair share of games at the old rink, at Joe Louis [Arena], and I've been to a couple games at the new rink (Little Caesars Arena), too," Norris said. "It was the team I idolized. Guys like [Pavel] Datsyuk and [Henrik] Zetterberg and [Nicklas] Lidstrom, those were kind of the big guys when I was growing up as a kid."

Norris, who can become a restricted free agent after the season, is the first player to score 30 goals in a season for the Senators since Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza each did so in 2011-12.
"It's impressive. He's hot right now," Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said. "Anytime he touches the puck, it's got a chance of going in. Super exciting. Super awesome. ... Every time it goes in, ka-ching. A little more cash coming his way."
Mathieu Joseph had three assists, Tkachuk had two assists, and Anton Forsberg made 30 saves for the Senators (25-37-6), who swept the home-and-home series after also winning 5-2 in Detroit on Friday.
Michael Rasmussen and Dylan Larkin scored, and Thomas Greiss made 31 saves for the Red Wings (26-34-9), who have lost six in a row (0-4-2) and are 2-10-3 in their past 15.
"The guys are frustrated," Larkin said. "It just hasn't gone the way any of us wanted it to go since even before the trade deadline. We've had the hardest schedule, but it's frustrating as it can be. We were the closest we've been in a couple years, and we're playing well, we play well at home, and then we've just really fallen off.
"It is frustrating. We've got to get something positive here to end the season on. We can't go into the summer like this and into next year."

Rasmussen gave Detroit a 1-0 lead at 7:21 of the first period when he deked Senators forward
Tim Stutzle
at the point and scored blocker side with a wrist shot.
"There's no doubt that right now we're beat down mentally," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "Now, that's not an excuse. We've got to fix that, but that's the reality of it, and we've got to climb our way out of it."
Artem Zub tied it 1-1 at 18:18 with a slap shot from the point.
Larkin cut it to 3-2 at 12:35 of the third period when he drove to the net and scored on the backhand.
"Everyone in our locker room is playing for something," Larkin said. "There's roles on the team next year, there's contracts, you're playing for a lot here. If that's not enough, you've got to play for the love of the game and come out and enjoy it, enjoy the grind of it and enjoy being in a one-goal game and playing the right way.
"I look around and I don't see a lot of joy. I don't see a lot of guys having fun, and we need to change that and enjoy playing hockey."
Nikita Zaitsev shot into an empty net for the 5-2 final at 19:15.
"They're a good team," Tkachuk said of Detroit. "They're kind of like us. They're a young team, up-and-coming. We'll be battling with them in the years to come in our division."
NOTES:Ottawa forward Tyler Ennis, who was playing in his 700th NHL game, left in the second period with an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Red Wings defenseman Gustav Lindstrom. Coach D.J. Smith said postgame Ennis is "likely done for the season." … Red Wings forward Sam Gagner was a late scratch due to a non-COVID-19 illness. … Norris has seven points (four goals, three assists) during a five-game point streak. … Joseph has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past two games and eight (three goals, five assists) in six since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 20. … Ottawa held a ceremony prior to the game honoring owner Eugene Melnyk, who died Monday from an undisclosed illness. He was 62.