Robertson hat trick lifts Stars over Oilers in Game 3

Source: The New York Times
Author: Daniel Nugent-Bowman, Mark Lazerus

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers were a freight train rolling full steam ahead. And then, they were halted in their tracks.

The Oilers wasted a first period where it looked like they were going to run the Dallas Stars out of the building and lost Game 3 of the Western Conference final 5-3.

For as good as the Oilers were in the opening frame as they outscored the Stars 2-0 and outshot them 10-3, they were the complete opposition the second -- only worse.

They were hemmed into their zone for most of the period, allowing the Stars to score three times in a 3:33 span. The Oilers didn't get their first shot until Connor McDavid had a weak wrister from the top of the circle at 12:49.

Though they entered the third tied, it was Stars winger Jason Robertson who scored the winner at 11:54 when he caught Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner cheating and not hugging his post to complete his hat trick.

Pete DeBoer bristled a bit Monday morning when asked if Robertson needed Roope Hintz, his usual center, to get going. Robertson, a two-time 40-goal scorer, entered Game 3 without a goal in his past 10 games. He did have eight assists in that time and had 13 points in 15 games.

"I don't know," DeBoer said. "I know he hasn't scored in 10 games, but he's a point-a-game player in the NHL playoffs. (He's) still contributing. He's going. He doesn't need to get going. I think any coach in the league will take a point-a-game guy this time of year, especially with the trail of teams we've had to go through and how tough defensively Vegas was and Colorado. He hasn't scored, but he doesn't need to get going."

Well, he got going, anyway. Robertson scored two goals -- both off Hintz primary assists -- in two and a half minutes early in the second period to completely change the tenor of the game. The first was an absolute snipe of a one-timer teed up by Hintz, the second a backhander after Hintz fished out a rebound in front of Skinner. That turned a 2-0 Oilers into a 2-2 game, and gave the Stars new life after they were all but run out of the building in the first period.

Robertson's third goal was the game-winner when he found a tiny crack between Skinner's right pad and the post, stuffing the puck in from the side of the net.

The Oilers came just shy of coming straight out and lobbying for more penalty calls against the Stars after Game 2. That didn't exactly happen in Game 3, but the Oilers did at least get their two power play opportunities at key times of the game -- 3:45 into the contest and in the second period after they were trailing.

The problem is they, once again, couldn't score.

The Oilers managed five shots on Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, the best chance coming on the first power play when McDavid circled and set up Leon Draisaitl for his patented one-timer. Oettinger snagged that blast with his glove.

The Oilers are now a very un-Oilers-like 0-for-5 on the power play through three games.

Sure, the Oilers could use a few more man advantages. (The Stars would probably say the same since they didn't get a power-play chance on Monday until late in the third; Mason Marchment was called for embellishment after Zach Hyman cross-checked him in the back, too.) But if the series continues to be officiated this way, the Oilers must do a better job at capitalizing on the rare chances they get.

That's the Oilers' way, after all.

Adam Henrique hasn't wowed since the Oilers acquired him just before the trade deadline in March, but he's been a steady, reliable player. They missed him while he was out injured.

Henrique returned to the lineup after missing the last seven games and eight of the last nine since sustaining a lower-body injury at the end of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. He centered the third line with Connor Brown and Warren Foegele.

Henrique made his presence felt at a key time.

It looked like the Oilers would be heading to the second intermission after an atrocious period before Henrique stepped up. The veteran forward tipped in a pass from Brown with 52.5 seconds on the clock to get the Oilers back to level terms before the break.

It was Henrique's second goal and third point in his seventh game in these playoffs. That contribution was desperately needed.

McDavid looked like he'd been shot out of a cannon during the first period. He was all over the ice, seemingly creating chance after chance for the Oilers.

He got rewarded for his efforts, too.

McDavid circled and fired, his shot hitting linemate Zach Hyman on the way in as he picked up a primary assist on Hyman's playoff-leading 13th goal 2:02 into the game.

Just 5:35 later, McDavid scored his fourth goal of the playoffs by outmuscling Tyler Seguin in front to covert a feed from Mattias Ekholm.

That McDavid goal was his 25th point of the postseason. It was also his 100th career playoff point in his 64th game. He became the fourth fastest player to that milestone in NHL history after Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Draisaitl.

McDavid's efforts were lost, though. He was on the ice for the two Robertson goals in the second period that shifted a two-goal Edmonton lead to a tie game.

Earlier in the series, DeBoer equated Hintz's absence to the Oilers losing McDavid. Hintz might not be quite that good, but he is that important. The Stars' No. 1 center returned to the lineup after suffering an apparent wrist/hand injury in Game 4 of Dallas' second-round series against Colorado. And everything clicked into place for Dallas, which suddenly had three high-end, high-skill lines, with Wyatt Johnston now centering the third line.

Hintz is the Stars' best skater up front. He's their best two-way player up front. He's their best penalty-killer up front. And he just so happens to be a dynamic point producer on top of that.

"Roope helps everybody," DeBoer said. "He really helps anybody he's playing with and any special teams he's on."

Hintz had been skating and handling the puck for a few days, and he didn't miss a beat in his return. He set up the first two Robertson goals, helped kill two penalties and had an error-free evening. Hintz's return just makes the deepest team in the league that much deeper, and that much more dangerous.

"We like to play a lot faster when he's in," Robertson said. "He matches up pretty good against this team. It's a good matchup. There's a lot of skating involved and he's our best skater. So having him has a big impact."