First Shift 🏒
Robertson is back.
The Stars’ leading scorer for the past two seasons started this year in a slump, but he has bounced back and is on a run that looks a lot like the Robertson of seasons past.
Robertson has 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) in the past 13 games for a points per game average of 1.3. After starting the year at about a half a point a game, he’s much closer now to his career average of 1.05.
“It feels good,” Robertson said. “You just have to keep pushing and keep believing.”
Robertson had surgery to remove a cyst from his foot in the offseason, and that took him off the training ice for months. It was the first time in his career he hasn’t been given a full offseason of workouts, and it definitely affected him.
“It’s a process and you have to learn to deal with it,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “It’s the first time he has ever dealt with something like that, so you know it’s going to affect him.”
Robertson, 25, also had to deal with the retirement of Joe Pavelski. The veteran winger was Robertson’s linemate for three seasons and the duo finished 1-2 in team scoring all three years. This season, there has been a rotation of wingers on that line, and that also seemed to contribute to the slump. Mix in a power play that has struggled to score, and the points just weren’t coming. When that happens, everyone on the team can lose confidence.
So when it comes back the way it has in the past few weeks, that also has an effect.
“It’s encouraging,” Robertson said. “Hopefully, the power play can pick it up and our five-on-five play can pull off of that. Like Pete [DeBoer] says, one goal can make a big difference, especially in these games where we’re missing two of our top six guys.”
The pressure on players like Robertson and Johnston has been dialed up because of the loss of Mason Marchment (week-to-week following facial surgery) and Seguin (4-6 months following hip surgery) to injuries. But the best way to ease that pressure is to win games and score goals. Robertson’s center Roope Hintz also has been playing well, and that makes games more fun.
“It’s been feeling good,” Hintz said. “We have had a lot of good looks before but haven’t scored. I think it’s good that now we have had some chances go in. That helps with that, and when we win, that’s good too.”
Robertson on Monday had a “Jason Robertson goal,” as the lanky winger skated out from behind the net and flipped a puck through a crowd on his backhand. While it looked a little “lucky,” it’s the kind of play Robertson has made for much of his career. He has a knack for surprising goalies, and he has a knack for getting the puck through some tight spots.
Robertson tallied 109 points (46 goals and 63 assists) in 2022-23, and put 313 shots on goal that season. Last year, he had 80 points (29 goals, 51 assists) and had 231 shots. This season, he’s at 10 goals and 22 assists, on pace for 21 goals among 67 points in 82 games, and also has just 99 shots (on pace for 208). Those are tangible signs that he has some work to do.
“You just show up every day and try to get better,” he said. “That’s what I’m doing.”
