EDMONTON, AB — Jason Robertson, have yourself a game!
The All-Star Dallas Stars forward registered a hat trick in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final, leading his team to a 5-3 win and giving them a 2-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers.
After starting out down 2-0 in the contest following a dominant first period from the Oilers, the Stars took control of the game in the second and third periods, and continued their road warrior ways from this season and this playoff run.
They took Game 3 in front of a stunned Edmonton crowd.
This performance was something of a long time coming for Robertson, too. Despite proving himself valuable on the forecheck all playoffs long, the man they call Robo had been conspicuously quiet on the offensive front of late in the postseason -- only to burst out in a big way in Monday night's matchup.
The return of his 30-goal-scoring line mate Roope Hintz, who'd been off the ice and injured since the team's last series, seemed to do Robertson well in this one.
With Hintz running point, Robertson notched two goals in the second period -- first on a one-timer from Hintz following a big blue line play in which Hintz kept an errant puck in the offensive zone, and then on a gorgeous backhander on the rebound off his own earlier shot -- to tie the game at two goals apiece.
After a goal from forward Wyatt Johnston when the puck leaked his way following a mishandled pass from forward Jamie Benn to rookie forward Logan Stankoven, the Stars took a 3-2 lead.
While the Oilers would soon get their third goal to tie things up heading into the third period, the Stars would own the final frame entirely.
First, Robertson got his third goal on the night with a gorgeous stuff past Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner along the post. Later, defenseman Miro Heiskanen slammed the door on the night and buried a three-quarter-ice empty netter to finalize Dallas' 5-3 victory.
The Oilers actually got plenty of production from their own stars in this one -- forwards Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid each scored in the first to get the Oilers up early, and forward Adam Henrique, himself returning from a lower body injury, tied the game in the second -- but the Stars weathered their first storm in Alberta.
Not even a controversial call from the refs, who called forward Mason Marchment for embellishment after he suffered a cross check in the back from Hyman near the end of the second period, could derail their momentum on Monday.
The Stars will next look to steal another win in Edmonton when Game 4's puck drops at Rogers Place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29.