Josh Norris score two goals and the Ottawa Senators put together one of their best 60-minute efforts of the season to beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Thursday night.
“I think when we play the system to a T like that, that’s kind of what happens,” Norris said. “Obviously it’s not going to be perfect every game, but that’s just the game we can look back on and kind of use it as a baseline to know that we can play that way and make it frustrating on other teams."
Thomas Chabot and Shane Pinto also scored for Ottawa, which has won two of its last three games. Anton Forsberg turned away 14 shots.
“I thought we played an excellent game tonight,” Senators interim coach Jacques Martin said. “I thought that was probably the game that we did the best job at checking.
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“I think our play away from the puck … was good. I thought our D were good at getting back pucks and our forwards being available. I thought we did a good job in the offensive zone controlling the puck. This is a good team and I thought we did a real good job.”
Joe Pavelski scored for Dallas, which has now lost four in a row.
Jake Oettinger started in net for Dallas but was pulled in the second period after allowing three goals on 11 shots. Scott Wedgewood gave up one goal on 19 shots in relief.
Dallas Stars
“There’s good losses and there are bad losses, and this is about as bad a loss that you can have,” said Stars coach Peter DeBoer. “So, we’ve got to respond.”
Coming off a 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday, much was expected in the Stars locker room.
“This room had all the feel that we were going to play a really good game,” Pavelski said. “Coming in, you could tell the guys were there and then we got out there and we got worse as the game went on.”
The Senators scored three unanswered goals while holding the Stars to just four shots in the second period.
Drake Batherson made a great pass to Norris, who got a step on Miro Heiskanen, to beat Oettinger five-hole for his second of the night at 5:37 of the second.
The assist gave Batherson his 200th career NHL point.
Chabot made it 3-1 Ottawa at 8:56 when he wristed a shot to the top right corner from the inside of the left circle.
Pinto completed the scoring with a power-play goal with 17 seconds remaining in the period.
Norris opened the scoring at 4:12 of the first period, tipping in a shot for his 14th of the season.
Pavelski scored his 20th of the season to tie the game with 9.3 seconds remaining in the frame on a delayed penalty call.
Coming into the game, Dallas was tied for the NHL lead in goals per game at 3.63. Ottawa ranked 30th in goals against at 3.57.
UP NEXT
Stars: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
Senators: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night.
