Jason Robertson scored three straight goals during the second period to power the Dallas Stars to a 6-5 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday at Capital One Arena.
Joel Kiviranta started the scoring for Dallas with a backhand goal at 8:56 of the first period. Robertson then took over early in the second frame, striking on the power play at 0:23 before adding two even-strength snap shots at 3:18 and 5:43 to complete his hat trick and give the Stars a 4-0 lead. Washington answered at 11:00 with a backhand power-play goal from Jordan Kyrou, but Mikko Rantanen countered for Dallas with a snap shot at 14:50 to make it 5-1. The Capitals narrowed the margin before the intermission with a snap shot from Boone Jenner at 16:58 and a power-play snap shot from Jakob Chychrun at 19:30.
Roope Hintz restored a three-goal cushion for the Stars just 1:23 into the third period with a backhand tally. Washington continued to push back, as Justin Sourdif deflected a puck home at 12:55 and Ryan Leonard converted a snap shot with 1:02 remaining in regulation. The late push fell short of forcing overtime as Dallas protected its one-goal advantage through the final minute.
Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger earned the win with 20 saves on 25 shots. For the Capitals, Logan Thompson stopped seven of 11 shots before Charlie Lindgren came on in relief, turning aside nine of 11 shots and taking the loss. Washington finished 2 of 3 on the power play, while Dallas converted one of its two power-play opportunities and controlled the faceoff circle by winning 34 of 57 draws.
The victory was the second in a row for the Stars, improving their regular-season record to 9-5-1. Washington dropped to 8-6-0 on the season and has now gone winless in two consecutive games.
The Stars next visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, November 5, at 7:00 PM ET. Washington remains at home to host the Florida Panthers on Saturday, November 7, at 12:30 PM ET.
