Jason Robertson may have been exhausted late in overtime but the Dallas Stars forward pounced on an opportunity for a breakaway.
Robertson scored his third goal of the game 4:30 into overtime to give the Stars a 4-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday at Canada Life Centre.
“I was out there for awhile,” said Robertson, who acknowledged being tired. “When the puck turns over, I didn’t stop, I kept moving my feet and you just find that extra ounce of energy to go down there.
Stars coach Rick Bowness said that Robertson’s hat trick underscored how talented he is offensively.
“Listen, he’s a natural goal scorer,” he said. “He’s got a great touch around the net and he loves to score. His poise with the puck and where to put it and when to put it, you can’t teach those instincts that he has. You just can’t, and he has those natural instincts goal scorers have.”
WATCH l Robertson’s big night lifts Stars over Jets:
Dallas Jason Robertson recorded his first career hat trick including the overtime winner as the Stars defeated the Jets 4-3. 2:17
The overtime winner took Robertson up to 26 goals on the season, nine more than he had in the entire 2020-21 campaign.
“I always have that confidence in me,” he said. “I always want to have that creativity. The guys on the ice have been able to find me in an open space so kudos to them. I’m a skilled player and that’s what I’m out there to do.”
Denis Gurianov scored the tying goal late in the third period for Dallas (31-20-3). Braden Holtby made 39 saves in net for the win before 13,466 fans at Canada: Life Centre.
The Jets scored only one power-play goal on six opportunities.
“It was a big game for us, especially when they came out hard,” Holtby said. “At times, you could tell they were a desperate team. We held our ground and got some big goals and big plays. This point in the season, it doesn’t matter how you beat them.”
‘We had our chances’
Paul Stastny scored two goals for the Jets (24-21-10) and Kyle Connor added one. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 30 shots for Winnipeg.
“I think, if we’re going to lose, I’d rather lose like this rather than where two weeks ago where we are getting outshot 2 to 1 and we find a way to get a point,” Stastny said. “We had our chances.”
Gurianov’s screened shot from the point beat Hellebuyck with 4:32 left in the third period to tie the game 3-3 and send it into overtime.
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—@DallasStars
Stastny had given the Jets a 3-2 lead at 12:19 of the third when he converted a pass from behind the net from Blake Wheeler. Connor pounced on an Evgeny Svechnikov rebound and got the puck past Holtby off a Dallas defenceman at the 1:21 mark.
Stastny had knotted the score at 1-1 on a second-period power play. He converted a pretty pass from forward Andrew Copp with Stars forward Riley Tufte off for slashing at 13:23.
The Stars opened the scoring at the 5:23 mark of the first period. Robertson accepted a pass from Suter at the point, then completely deked Hellebuyck to the ice and slid a backhand into the empty net.
It was the second of a four-game homestand for Winnipeg, who will play host to the New York Rangers on Sunday.
The Stars will face the Wild in Minnesota on Sunday.
WATCH l Ukrainian men’s choir reflects on emotional performance at Jets’ game:
The Hoosli Ukrainian Male Chorus performed the Canadian and Ukrainian national anthems at the Winnipeg Jets game Tuesday, striking an emotional chord for those in attendance, and watching from home. CBC News videographer Justin Fraser sat down with members of the choir at one of their rehearsals this week to talk about the impact the war in Ukraine is having on them. 3:40