Jason Robertson will look to stretch his “puck luck” when the Dallas Stars open a brief two-game homestand Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Robertson collected two goals and an assist as the Stars blanked the Montreal Canadiens 7-0 on Thursday to stretch their winning streak to four games.
With the three-point performance, Robertson extended his point streak to three games (three goals, four assists). The 26-year-old has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) over his last seven games.
“I wouldn’t say it’s easier,” Robertson said. “It just happens. Puck luck. I don’t know if those shots go in a week or two ago, but it did (in Montreal), and it feels good.”
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan credited Robertson for continuing to play his game regardless of whether it translates on the scoresheet.
“That’s why you’ve got to stick with it,” Gulutzan said. “Confidence is a funny thing. When you’ve been that good of a scorer for that long, you’ve just got to stick with it. It’s a credit to him. He never really got too down on himself.”
Colin Blackwell scored a goal and an assist; Alex Petrovic, Wyatt Johnston, Tyler Seguin and defenseman Esa Lindell also scored in the win over the Canadiens. Radek Faksa notched three assists while Mikko Rantanen had two, and Casey DeSmith made 24 saves for his 13th career shutout.
The Stars improved to 8-1-2 over their last 11 games.
“Honestly, we want to win games,” Robertson said. “We want to keep winning games, and whether you’re not feeling good or not, (we) want to keep winning and adjusting. Can’t get ahead of ourselves but just trying to find ways to win.”
Saturday will mark the first of two meetings between the Stars and Flyers this season. Dallas won both matchups last season, outscoring Philadelphia 7-3.
The Flyers will travel to Dallas on Saturday for the second game of a back-to-back following a 6-5 shootout win in St. Louis on Friday night.
The line of Trevor Zegras, Owen Tippett and Christian Dvorak carried the offensive load, combining for all five goals in regulation as the Flyers erased 3-1 and 5-3 deficits to force overtime.
Zegras, who was unable to convert a penalty shot in overtime, added the shootout winner for Philadelphia, which stretched its point streak to five games (3-0-2).
Goaltender Sam Ersson made 12 saves as the Flyers improved to 3-2-1 on the road this season.
“I don’t think we got off to the start we wanted, but we turned it around pretty quickly,” Tippett said. “Obviously was playing catch-up the whole game, but we got it done.”
The Dvorak-Tippett-Zegras line combined for 10 points (five goals, five assists) in Friday’s victory.
“(Dvorak) is good all around the ice, and (Zegras) just hangs on to it and makes plays no matter where he is and how many guys are on him,” said Tippett, who matched a career high with his four-point effort. “We’ve been together for a good portion of the year now, and it was fun tonight.”
