Heika’s Take: Stars find another way to win behind Robertson’s hat trick

The Stars have found a lot of different ways to win over the past two months.

Sunday was a totally new one.

Playing a New York Islanders team known for its physicality, the Stars were able to come up with two power play goals while taking a 4-3 win at UBS Arena. The two man advantage tallies were part of a Jason Robertson hat trick and came off a five-minute major penalty from Casey Cizikas that knocked Stars defenseman Lian Bichsel out of the game. Cizikas dropped his shoulder into Bichsel’s chin while going after a loose puck, and Dallas was able to cash in and take a 4-2 lead after two periods.

It was the right answer for a Stars team that has not been overly physical this season. While Matt Dumba fought Cizikas as an answer to the hit, Dallas finished with just 10 hits in the game.

Still, the lads in Victory Green were able to push their current run to 8-1-1 thanks in part to the work of Robertson and the man advantage.

“It was a tough game, back-to-back, coming out of the break. I think we ran out of gas in the third period,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “They pushed hard. Sometimes, you have to win games in different ways in this league, and tonight it was a couple of big power play goals and a couple of big saves at the right time.”

The Stars power play has 16 goals in its last 19 games, so they are definitely gliding past an early season slump. Robertson is a big reason why. Since the NHL Holiday Break, Robertson ranks fourth in the NHL in scoring with 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists) in 23 games. That’s after starting the year with 23 points (7 goals, 16 assists) in 33 games.

“I thought tonight he was exceptional,” said DeBoer of Robertson’s fourth career hat trick. “He was moving his feet, he was attacking, he was scoring the type of goals he scores. We need him. We survived without that production in the first half of the year, but it makes a world of difference when he’s producing like that.”

Dallas is now 37-18-2, good for 76 points, third most in the league. The Islanders fall to 25-24-7.

What’s impressive about the recent run is the Stars have been winning all sorts of ways. Coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the NHL has been chaotic. Teams are struggling to find consistency and it’s made for some challenging nights and lopsided scores. But Dallas won in New Jersey on Saturday and on Long Island on Sunday because it trusted the formula and trusted each other.

“We’re winning all kinds of ways right now, so that’s a great sign,” said Jake Oettinger, who stopped 34 shots to get the win and move to 27-12-2. “When you’re winning games and you’re not playing your best, that’s what you want to see. You’re not going to have your best every night.”

Dallas was outshot 37-29 in the game and needed Oettinger to be great at times. It also killed a couple of key penalties, and capitalized on the remaining three minutes of a five-minute major. With Bichsel leaving the game and Dumba racking up 17 penalty minutes after fighting in response to Bichsel’s injury, the Stars were down to four defensemen for a big stretch of the game. However, the gesture was huge for the Stars, who have not been a physical team this year.

“I mean, good on Matty Dumba stepping in there,” said DeBoer. “I think that type of pack mentality is important in our group, and Dumba is one of the first guys to do that all of the time. Then, I think when you see one of your players leave, the best response is on the power play and making them pay for it. I think we did.”

Robertson was fantastic, cashing in on a beautiful pass from Matt Duchene for the go-ahead goal, and then stuffing in a rebound for the insurance goal (and eventual game-winner) two minutes later.

“It was an emotional time, obviously,” Robertson said. “You don’t ever want to lose a guy. We took another minor, so we only had three minutes, but we were able to execute and bear down and not take the time for granted. We didn’t want to screw around. We were able to keep it simple and get inside. Guys were in the right spot and our skilled players made skill plays.”

And that’s what’s been huge for this team of late. When they need a goal (like in the third period on Saturday when Duchene scored), they get a goal. When they need a save (as both Oettinger and Casey DeSmith did in facing the extra attacker each night), they get a save.

It’s huge for a team that is now 11-3-1 on the road in its past 15 games after starting 6-8-0. It’s huge for a team that is getting big performances from a lot of different players. It’s big for a team that is still missing Tyler Seguin (hip), Miro Heiskanen (knee) and potentially Bichsel on Tuesday against Columbus.

“We’re winning games,” DeBoer said. “These teams we’re playing are really desperate teams. These guys are fighting for their playoff lives. It’s hard to manufacture that desperation. We found a way in a tough situation and we move forward.”

And while the immediate “forward” is simply trying to finish out strong in the regular season, the ultimate “forward” is getting ready for the postseason.

“Hopefully, we can learn from all of the chaotic ends to games,” said Oettinger. “That’s how playoffs are, and hopefully we can have a group that can win those types of games in the playoffs.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.