Jason Robertson recorded a natural hat trick over the first 5:43 of the second period, and the visiting Dallas Stars held on for a 6-5 win over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
It was the seventh career regular-season hat trick for Robertson, who scored three times on four shots to give Dallas a 4-0 lead before later adding an assist.
Roope Hintz had a goal and two assists, while Joel Kiviranta and Mikko Rantanen also scored for the Stars, who are 4-1-1 on the road. Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley each recorded two assists, and Jake Oettinger made 20 saves.
Jordan Kyrou had a goal and two assists, while Jakob Chychrun and Ryan Leonard each had a goal and an assist for Washington, which dropped back-to-back home games for the first time. Late third-period goals from Justin Sourdif and Leonard brought the Capitals within one.
Washington’s Boone Jenner also scored, and Dylan Strome had two assists.
The Capitals’ Logan Thompson was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 11 shots. Charlie Lindgren came on and stopped nine of the 11 shots he faced.
Dallas opened the scoring on its first shot on goal. With 11:04 remaining in the first period, Kiviranta backhanded the puck into the net off a rebound.
Just 23 seconds into the second period, Robertson broke in on a power play and beat Thompson to the short side. Less than three minutes later, Robertson deked Chychrun along the boards before firing the puck into the top-right corner.
With 14:17 remaining in the period, Robertson completed his hat trick by ringing a shot off the post and ending Thompson’s night.
Washington finally scored with 9:00 remaining in the second. On a power play, Cole Hutson’s point shot deflected off net-front teammate Strome and landed on Kyrou’s stick. Kyrou put it past Oettinger to make it 4-1.
The Stars got that goal back with 5:10 remaining in the period. Rantanen drove the puck through traffic, and his attempt was deflected twice before going over Lindgren.
Washington made it 5-2 as Jenner beat Oettinger between the legs with 3:02 remaining in the second. With 30 seconds left before the intermission, Chychrun one-timed the puck past a late-reacting Oettinger on a power play.
Dallas extended its advantage 1:23 into the third period on Hintz’s backhand shot, which bounced past Lindgren.
The Stars have won nine of their last 10 meetings with the Capitals.
–Field Level Media
