Robertson has goal, 2 assists, Stars hold off Sharks

DALLAS -- Jason Robertson had a goal and two assists, and the Dallas Stars defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-2 at American Airlines Center on Wednesday.

Wyatt Johnston and Roope Hintz each had a goal and an assist for the Stars (12-6-0), who have four wins in their past five games (4-1-0). Jake Oettinger made 21 saves.

“We needed those guys to get going. So, the right guys scored,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “You could tell by their body language that it was a weight off their shoulders and hopefully that’s the start of some big things here. We need them.”

Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist, and Jake Walman also scored for the Sharks (6-11-4), who have lost four of five (1-2-2). Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves.

“For the most part, we’re doing the right thing. It’s just those little parts in the game we’ve got to hold each other accountable,” Walman said. “If we want to be a good team and compete with these other good teams, we’ve got to hold each other accountable and make the right plays at the right times in those tight games.”

Robertson gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 15:33 of the first period, scoring off a spin move at the top of the left face-off circle for his first goal in 10 games.

“I think whenever you’re really fighting it, it’s good to see it go in, especially when you’re a goal-scorer,” Robertson. “I think it’s great. Our line -- Roope, Johnston and I -- this past month we’ve relied heavily on [Matt] Duchene’s line to do it. It’s a tough league and we needed another line to step up and be able to do that. I thought their line played great, but it’s nice to see our line win us a game and contribute.”

Granlund scored short-handed to tie it 1-1 at 18:44 on a shot over Oettinger’s glove.

“He’s a great player and a great leader. I try to look at guys like that and see how they play the right way,” San Jose forward William Eklund said. “I saw [the puck] coming and try to get it by the boards there, and try to get it to [him]. [Granlund] did a great job getting it in, it was great to have it go in there.”

Johnston put Dallas back ahead 2-1 just 56 seconds into the second period on a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle.

“I think a little bit of instincts, you know from my short time so far in the NHL, you learn how good the [opposing] six are. The defenseman you know they’re going to be going at the puck,” Johnston said. “That’s one thing I worked on a lot in the summer is working on slipping it under the stick and getting your shot off. I think it’s something hard for [defensemen] to defend.”

Jamie Benn made it 3-1 at 10:56 on a shot that went between Blackwood’s arm and the left post.

Walman cut it to 3-2 at 13:25 of the third period with a snap shot from the top of the right circle.

“We’re not going to quit. We’ll never give up,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “I thought we had a decent push there in the third, 6-on-5 had some opportunities there. But we shoot ourselves in the foot in goals that we give up that are completely preventable. Until we learn how to play in the National Hockey League against really good second-period teams, which are -- most teams know how to transition in the second period -- we’re going to be fighting this uphill battle in games.”

Hintz scored an empty-net goal to extend it to 4-2 at 18:33, and Evgenii Dadonov also scored into an empty net at 19:06 for the 5-2 final.

NOTES: Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist sustained a lower-body injury at 5:02 of the second period and did not return. DeBoer said the injury did not appear to be anything major, but more would be known on his status at practice on Friday. … Granlund left the game late in the third period after a heavy hit from Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin. Warsofsky did not have an update.