NHL On Tap: DeBrincat feeling at home with Red Wings, set to face Penguins 

Welcome to the NHL On Tap. Three NHL.com writers will share what they are most looking forward to on the schedule each day. Today, their choices from the two games Wednesday.

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DeBrincat finding new home back home

Alex DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings: That was the news when the Ottawa Senators on July 10 traded the forward, who hails from Farmington Hills, Michigan, about 20 miles northwest of the Motor City. So far, going home has been very sweet for DeBrincat, who has five points (three goals, two assists) in his first three games with Detroit playing the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, TVAS). DeBrincat is the second player in the past 30 seasons to begin his Red Wings tenure with five points through his first three games (Thomas Vanek started with two goals and three assists in 2016-17). He scored 27 goals last season, down from the NHL career-high of 41 he had for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018-19 and 2021-22. Will he increase his production more with the Red Wings? Probably, and I expect him to continue his season-opening point streak against the Penguins. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Ovechkin looks to break out in Ottawa  

Alex Ovechkin could be due to score his first goal of the season when he and the Washington Capitals visit the Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET, RDS, SN, MNMT). The 38-year-old left wing is second in NHL history with 822 goals -- 72 away from Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 894 -- but did not score in his first two games. Ovechkin has a habit of scoring against the Senators, though. He has 36 goals in 54 games against Ottawa, including 17 in 27 games at Canadian Tire Centre. Ovechkin will try to avoid going goal-less in the first three games for the second straight season and third time in his 19 NHL seasons; he scored two goals in the fourth game of 2022-23 against the Vancouver Canucks and went on to get 42, setting an NHL record with his 13th season of at least 40. It took him until the fifth game of 2012-13 to score his first goal and he went on to lead the NHL with 32 during a season shortened to 48 games by a work stoppage. The Capitals captain is also one power-play goal from 300 in the NHL. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Norris to return for Senators

Things are going well for the Senators, who have won two of their first three games to start the season. They could get better with Josh Norris making his season debut against the Capitals. The center took rushes at the morning skate on the third line between Dominik Kubalik and Drake Batherson, one day after practicing with the first power-play unit, and coach D.J. Smith said there will be no limitations on the 24-year-old who missed all but eight games last season. Norris injured his shoulder in October, rehabbed, returned for three games in January (his last coming Jan. 21) and ended up having surgery and missing the rest of the season. He tweaked that same shoulder before the start of training camp during a captain's practice, which is why he has yet to play this season. With Shane Pinto still unsigned, the Senators could use Norris -- against the Capitals and for the rest of the season -- as a player with the capability of scoring 35 goals, like he did in 2021-22, with 20 assists. His return should be huge. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Wednesday games

Washington Capitals at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; RDS, SN, MNMT)

Brady Tkachuk has five points (four goals, one assist) and two goals in each of his past two games to help the Senators win two straight after losing their season opener. The Capitals are coming off the first win under coach Spencer Carbery and on the road for the first time this season. Nicklas Backstrom is expected to play his 1,100th NHL game and become one of six active skaters with at least 1,100 games and 1,000 points (Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Anze Kopitar, Claude Giroux and Joe Pavelski).

Pittsburgh Penguins at Detroit Red Wings (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, TVAS)

A matchup of two premier defensemen with Penguins new acquisition Erik Karlsson against Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider, a 22-year-old with three points (one goal, two assists) in three games and first in the NHL with an average of 23:47 in time on ice. Karlsson has one assist in three games after getting 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists) in 82 games last season to win the Norris Trophy voted as the best defenseman in the NHL. The game also could be Jeff Petry's first for the Red Wings against the Penguins since he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in the three-team deal that sent Karlsson to Pittsburgh on Aug. 6. The defenseman was then traded to Detroit by Montreal on Aug. 15. His father, Dan Petry, played nine seasons for the Detroit Tigers, won the 1984 World Series and is a Tigers studio analyst.