Robertson makes Stars history with consecutive 40-goal seasons

Jason Robertson has reached a milestone unlike any other player has ever done for the Dallas Stars.
Robertson put together back-to-back seasons of 40 goals or more.
That's something Mike Modano didn't accomplish or Brett Hull, at least not in Dallas. Jamie Benn hasn't done it. Tyler Seguin hasn't done it. Brad Richards, Loui Eriksson, and Brenden Morrow are all looking up at the accomplishment.
And the thing is, Robertson is just 23 years old. He's in his third full NHL season and he's doing things that some veteran players haven't done in their full careers.
It's worth noting.

He's also done all of this in spectacular style. Saturday's 6-5 overtime win against Calgary is a good example. Robertson had two goals and an assist, fired nine shots at the net and won the game with a memorable goal. Robertson took a stretch pass from Joe Pavelski, raced up the left wing, stepped around defenseman Rasmus Andersson with a stultifying toe drag, and then lifted an amazing backhand shot past Jacob Markström, winning the game with about 12 seconds to spare.
"Just wow," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said when asked about the moment.
That's all you can really say sometimes about Robertson. He did the same thing against Winnipeg last year in overtime. He's found amazing ways to score goals, using all manner of stick gesticulations and body gyrations. He's proving he could possibly be the greatest goal scorer in franchise history.
"Back-to-back 40 goal seasons for Robo…that's real," DeBoer said. "You've arrived as an elite scorer when you can do that."
For Robertson, the process has been one of both determination and confidence. Yes, he believes he has a special ability to put the puck in the net, an athletic confidence, so to speak. But he also never stops working at getting better. He looked at his film from last season in the summer and decided he wasn't happy with the lethality, or the frequency, of his slap shot and one-timers. So, he made a goal of getting much better at it this season.
On Saturday, he picked up a long rebound and sniped it into the back of the net to tie the game at 4-4.
He leads the Stars this season with three slap shot goals and is second in slap shot attempts at 28.
He also leads the team in overall shots on goal at 274, nearly 90 more than second-place Miro Heiskanen, and that's for a reason. The man who works tirelessly on his shot at practice said he feels he is best when he's getting the puck to the net. Not only is it a good plan when it comes to mathematics, he is also in a better mental state when the shots are rolling up. In the four games previous to Saturday, Robertson had a total of five shots on net. He equaled that against the Flames.
"I think I had to work out of it the last couple of games," Robertson said of the fact his goal scoring is part of a process that requires daily care with linemates Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz.
"It was tough sledding," he said. "But the game today, I got together with Roope and Joe and tried to find out what we can do better and how we can be more productive, just try to support each other more. Tonight, we did that."
DeBoer is in his first year of coaching Robertson and said he has been impressed by the machinations of daily life for the wiry winger. Robertson likes to watch his shift on an iPad as soon as he gets back to the bench. He'll also review his play at the intermissions and before and after games.
"He's just a student of the game," DeBoer said. "I use that term with a lot of players, but he's at another level compared to the normal person. Away from the rink, after the game, he watches it again. He watches tendencies of other guys around the league and goal-scorers. He's got a real analytical mind in both scoring and on his own game."
It's become a bit of a controversial subject throughout the league because some coaches would rather their players be watching the game while they're on the bench. But DeBoer said he trusts Robertson's "process."
"I know that's a hot topic in the NHL, but I'm not going to mess with a 60-goal scorer," DeBoer said with a smile.
Robertson isn't quite to 60 yet, but there are many who believe he can get there. He has 99 goals and 213 points in 198 career games. That pace will rival anybody in franchise history. The fact that he wants to get even better says how seriously he takes the responsibility of scoring goals. He has helped turn the Stars from a team who struggles to post numbers to one that ranks eighth in scoring at 3.43 goals per game.
"When you score like he scores, there's always going to be ebbs and flows," DeBoer said of Robertson's drive. "I thought last game he struggled a little bit, but his response has always been great. If he has an off night, there's always a response the next night."
Robertson said he has become comfortable with the goal-scoring responsibility and said the team, as a whole, also embraces the expectation.
"They put me out there to try to produce," he said. "My linemates are having great seasons, Miro is having a great season, a lot of guys on this team are having fantastic seasons, so that kind of bleeds into my game, and that success translates from the team to the individuals. We're doing really well in the standings right now and we want to keep it that way. And it helps for a guy like me to achieve that milestone."
A guy like him has 88 points so far this year. That ranks fourth in Dallas history behind 93 for Mike Modano in 1993-94, 91 for Brad Richards in 2009-10, and 89 for Jamie Benn in 2015-16. Robertson has 12 games left to set his own mark.
"I want to keep shooting," he said. "That's back to my game, shooting the puck. When I was really hot in the first half of the year, I was getting four, five, six, seven every game. I kind of got away from that a little bit, and it happens, but I was glad I was able to get some tonight."
If Saturday's game was any indication, the final dozen will be fun to watch.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.