Robertson gets hat trick in 2nd, Stars hold off Islanders for 3rd win in row

ELMONT, N. Y. -- Jason Robertson scored a hat trick in the span of 8:40 in the second period, and the Dallas Stars held off the New York Islanders for a 4-3 win at UBS Arena on Sunday.

The hat trick was Robertson’s first of the season and fourth in the NHL.

“Yeah I saw [the hats on the ice],” Robertson said. “It’s been a while. It was pretty neat.”

Sam Steel also scored, and Roope Hintz and Matt Duchene each had two assists for the Stars (37-18-2), who have won three straight and eight of 10, including a 4-2 win at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Jake Oettinger made 34 saves.

“It was a tough game, back to back coming out of the break,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “I think we ran out of some gas in the third period. Credit to them, they pushed hard. Sometimes, you need to win games in different ways in this league. Tonight, it was a couple of big power-play goals and a couple of big saves at the right time.”

Pierre Engvall, Kyle Palmieri, and Anthony Duclair scored for the Islanders (25-24-7), who have lost three in a row and four of five. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves.

“We were a little sloppy in the first, I think,” Duclair said. “That’s normal after two weeks off, but I think we started finding our legs there in the second. We came back. ... I think turnovers cost us tonight. I think [the loss] is on us.”

Steel gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 2:10 of the first period. After Cody Ceci’s point shot hit Oskar Bäck in the low slot, Steel retrieved the loose puck and beat Sorokin blocker side with a wrist shot.

Engvall tied it 1-1 at 3:44 of the second period, beating Oettinger under the blocker with a backhand. Off the rush, Marc Gatcomb fed Kyle MacLean, who cut over the Stars’ blue line before finding Engvall in tight.

Robertson put Dallas back ahead 2-1 at 8:48 after he beat Sorokin from the slot through a screen.

Palmieri tied it 2-2 just seven seconds later at 8:55. From the Islanders’ blue line, Tony DeAngelo found Palmieri with a saucer pass coming over Dallas' blue line. After Palmieri fell down, he got up and beat Oettinger high glove side on a breakaway.

At 13:26, Casey Cizikas hit Lian Bichsel behind the Stars net. The hit was called a major penalty on the ice. After a review, Cizikas was given a match penalty for an illegal hit to the head.

Bichsel left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return. There was no update on his status postgame.

Robertson scored his second goal of the game on the ensuing power play to give Dallas a 3-2 lead at 15:53. Off the rush, Duchene passed the puck to Hintz, who was stationed inside the left face-off dot. Hintz then found Robertson below the right circle for a one-timer over Sorokin’s glove.

Robertson completed the hat trick at 17:28, scoring his second power-play goal of the period to extend it to 4-2. He buried a Hintz rebound past Sorokin’s right pad from the low slot.

“It's definitely an emotional time,” Robertson said. “Obviously, you never want to lose a guy. I didn't see the hit or anything, but obviously, Bichsel could not come back. We took another minor, so three minutes [on the power play], and we were able to execute and bear down and not take the time for granted.”

Duclair cut it to 4-3 at 9:17 of the third period. After he took a shot from the left half wall, he picked up a loose puck in the slot before beating Oettinger five-hole with a backhand.

Oettinger kicked out his right pad at 11:42 of the third to stop a Ryan Pulock slap shot to preserve Dallas’ lead.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau appeared to tie the game at 15:08 on a one-timer from the high slot, but the goal was immediately waved off for goaltender interference. The Islanders did not challenge the call.

“From what I saw, it looked like their guy pushed our guy into me,” Oettinger said. “And I thought he made the right call. I'm happy to win that way.”

New York pulled Sorokin for the extra skater with just under two minutes remaining while on the power play but was unable to tie it.

“It's never easy when you get a five-minute major,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “I know we played four against five for three minutes, but I mean, regardless of that, it was probably a key moment in that game. Unfortunately for us, we were not able to kill that penalty."

NOTES: Duchene extended his multipoint streak to four games (10 points; five goals, five assists). … Brock Nelson had an assist to pass Pat LaFontaine for eighth in Islanders history with 567 points (292 goals, 275 assists). … The Islanders had won six straight at home.