Jason Robertson put three shots on goal over the Dallas Stars' first two games, went without a point and was minus-3 in the season opener. He needed one period on Monday to put all of that behind him.
In the second period against the San Jose Sharks, Robertson set up one goal and scored another, and Dallas pulled away for a 5-0 victory at American Airlines Center, its first win of the season. He finished with four shots and a plus-3 in 17:46, according to the NHL's box score.
The pass
Robertson started the night on a line with Roope Hintz and captain Jamie Benn, Stars Thoughts reported, and he tried a backhand from close range on the first Dallas power play that the outlet called the unit's best chance.
His first point came 6:19 into the second with Dallas up 2-0. Working below the San Jose goal line, Robertson flicked a touch pass between his own legs to Benn near the left post, and Benn jammed it in, NHL.com reported. Later on the same shift, Benn returned the favor with a feed that Robertson sent wide, according to Stars Thoughts.
The finish
At 16:30, Robertson made it 4-0 on his own. NHL.com described him gloving down defenseman Sam Dickinson's attempted clear at the right point, then walking into the slot and beating Yaroslav Askarov to the blocker side with a wrist shot. The NHL scoresheet lists the goal as unassisted.
It was his first goal this season, as it was for Benn and for Mikko Rantanen, who capped the scoring 15:22 into the third. Miro Heiskanen had given Dallas the lead late in the first, and Joel Kiviranta scored early in the second. Jake Oettinger stopped every shot he faced for his 17th career shutout.
The Stars controlled play throughout, outshooting San Jose 26-13 and winning 25 of 44 faceoffs. Dallas went 0-for-3 on the power play, but the Sharks were also blanked on two chances.
"We're playing a young team and a young team that's on the rise," coach Glen Gulutzan said, per Stars Thoughts. "One way to slow them down is to grind and play in their zone and force them to defend. That slows them down and I thought our guys did a good job of that today."
