Heika’s Take: Robertson nets hat trick as Stars dominate Flyers for fifth straight win

Patience has been a real friend to the Stars this season.

Sniper Jason Robertson had to grin and bear it when his shooting percentage was below 5.0 percent a week ago.

Goalie Jake Oettinger had to shake off a lopsided 7-5 loss to the Anaheim Ducks a little over a week ago.

And head coach Glen Gulutzan has had to manage some significant injury issues while still teaching his team a new system in the first five weeks of the regular season.

We’re dealing with a lot right now.

And yet, Robertson had a hat trick on Saturday and now has nine points (6 goals, 3 assists) in his past three games. It’s the first time in his career that he’s posted three points in three straight games.

Meanwhile, Oettinger stopped 20 shots against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 5-1 rout to push his record to 8-3-2 on the season.

And Dallas won for the fifth straight time to move to 12-4-3 on the season, the third best record in the league.

Statistically speaking, Dallas is 11th in scoring, ninth in goals against and 31st in puck possession. But after rallying against Ottawa in overtime, blowing out Montreal, 7-0, and then dominating the Flyers, the lads in Victory Green are starting to look quite a bit more confident.

“I would say this is probably our most complete game of the season with everything we’re trying to do here,” Gulutzan said. “I think we're building it into a well-rounded group right now.”

Dallas had a 28-21 advantage in shots on goal and a 60-44 edge in shot attempts. It started the game strong, doubled up Philly on scoring chances, and never really looked back. If it hadn’t been for a strong start from Flyers goalie Dan Vladar, the score could have been a lot worse.

“We just are playing a more full 60 minutes,” said Oettinger. “Tonight, it was nice to see us get a hot start instead of sitting back for the first 10 minutes. The guys played a full 60 minutes, and we got the win.”

That’s a great feeling for a team that has been inconsistent to start this season. Dallas dominated the first 20 minutes and took a 1-0 lead three minutes in when Lian Bichsel popped in a shot from distance for his first goal of the season. The marker was impressive because it came with assists from Alexander Petrovic and Justin Hryckowian as well as help from the fourth line – which was big in the Montreal game, as well. But it was also special because the team announced that defenseman Thomas Harley will be out “week to week” with a lower body injury. That means players like Bichsel and Petrovic will be getting bigger minutes and that depth defenseman Kyle Capobianco will be getting into the lineup.

“They were all rock solid tonight,” said Oettinger. “They all stepped up big time. We’ve had a bit of the injury bug to start here, so the fact we’re doing as well as we are is a testament to the guys in here.”

While the Flyers made their biggest push in the second period, Robertson found his magic touch to fire up the arena and keep momentum on the Stars’ side. The 26-year-old used his quick hands to swipe in a pass from Tyler Seguin to make it 2-0 and then wheeled and whipped in a goal-scorer’s goal six minutes later to make it 3-0.

The Stars’ second-ranked power play then solved the Flyers’ second-ranked penalty kill midway through the third period and Robertson had his sixth career hat trick to make the score 4-0.

At that point, Dallas had scored 14 unanswered goals against opponents over parts of the past three games. Philadelphia broke up Oettinger’s shutout bid a minute later, and then Seguin added his seventh goal of the season for the final score.

It was a festive feeling at American Airlines Center as the team got ready to honor Joe Nieuwendyk and Ralph Strangis in the Dallas Stars Hall of Fame on Sunday. There was a real celebration of Stars hockey past, and just a hint of excitement for what might be coming this year.

Colorado is playing some of its best hockey at 12-1-5, but the Stars are just two points behind in the standings.

“They’re a great team, and so are we,” Gulutzan said. “We’re hitting that 20-game mark and you just want to keep piling up points. I’m still making sure that our game looks like it did tonight on more occasions, so that’s where I’m going to keep my energy at.”

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.