Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings Notebook: Perron Ends Slump With 9th Hat Trick

Published

1 year ago

March 28, 2023

DETROIT — It’s impossible to explain how David Perron could go from two goals in 29 games to three goals in just over 16 minutes of the third period Tuesday.

But Red Wings associate coach Bob Boughner could tell there was something different about him against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“You could see that he was dangerous every time he shot the puck,” Boughner said.

Perron scored at 4:05 of the third period, and then added two late goals for his ninth career hat trick. Perron (34 years, 304 days) is the oldest Red Wings player to record a hat trick since Nicklas Lidstrom (40 years, 231 days) on Dec. 15, 2010 against the St. Louis Blues.

“I think I got more (hat tricks) recently than I got when I was in my early 20s,” Perron said. “Hopefully I keep doing that. Who knows, maybe one more this year and next year.”

The Red Wings have been offensively-challenged for much of the season. So a hat trick is a meaningful event, especially when it helps record a 7-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I think my favorite was the one in the playoffs last year but other than that, you just keep playing,” Perron said. “I don’t really think about that too much. It’s nice to contribute, help out, I haven’t done it nearly enough recently. It felt good.”

Why did the Red Wings look sharper offensively? Boughner thought it was better traffic around the net and “it just seemed like we had good sticks.”

Free ‘Newsy’

When Associate Coach Bob Boughner walked into the press conference room, he couldn’t resist making a joke about head coach Derek Lalonde’s ejection in Detroit’s 7-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“We couldn’t find the keys for newsy, the cuffs are still on him in the back,” Boughner said in explanation for why he was dealing with the media.

Ice Chips

Before scoring seven goals against Pittsburgh, the Red Wings had averaged 1.93 goals per game over their past 15 games… Moritz Seider dished out a pair of assists for his eighth multi-point game of the season. Seider has accumulated 24 points (3-21-24) and a plus-10 rating in 35 games dating back to Jan. 10 vs. Winnipeg… Dylan Larkin finished with a goal and two assists for his 15th multi-point game and seventh three-point performance of the season.