Heika’s Take: Robertson’s late goal helps Stars grind out gritty win over Kings

Earlier in the season, a game like Monday’s was kind of typical.

Oftentimes, the Stars would win the goaltending battle, come up with a key goal late, and walk away with a huge win. It’s why they have the record they do.

More recently, that scenario has been a little tougher to come by.

But what a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings reminded the lads in Victory Green of is the fact that they are pretty gritty and opportunistic and smart. And that is something that can get you a lot of points in the NHL.

“It’s been a while since we got something like this,” said forward Jason Robertson, who scored the game-winning goal late in the third period. “It feels good.”

Dallas has been in a bit of a funk and blew multiple two-goal leads in an overtime loss at San Jose on Saturday, so battling for Monday’s win was important. Captain Jamie Benn returned from a face injury that kept him out for three games and goalie Jake Oettinger took the crease after sitting two games in a row - and that helped restore a little of the Stars’ mojo.

In a game in which the Stars were outshot 18-9 in the first 40 minutes, Oettinger held strong and made an early Wyatt Johnston goal stand up as the lead. In the end, he finished with 24 saves and held the rudder steady while Robertson and Matt Duchene provided the cushion in the final four minutes of regulation.

“I thought he was really good,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “You see how big he is, and he was fighting through. This was a playoff type game, so good for him.”

The game easily could have gone the other way – they have in recent outings. Dallas was especially in mental peril when Mikko Rantanen scored midway through the third period to provide a 2-1 lead, but the goal was disallowed because Johnston was ruled offside.

“It sucks,” said Johnston, who has 25 goals on the season. “You’ve got to work pretty hard to get your chances. But I think we tried to get momentum out of it.”

In fact, the Stars did. They didn’t wobble, they didn’t back off. They kept pushing and pushing, and Robertson finally tallied on an awkward backhand from distance through a maze of bodies.

The shot was very much the kind of play Robertson makes on a regular basis, as he read the flow of the game, saw traffic in front and tossed up a shot that was tough to handle.

“The puck goes in for him,” Gulutzan said. “We talked about getting into the interiors and he cut across that line and threw that backhand. But we had guys taking away the eyes a little bit. Sometimes, you need a mucky goal like that. That’s the way it goes.”

Both Rantanen and Sam Steel had chances at empty-net goals and couldn’t close the deal, but Duchene did and took away the pressure near the end. That was important as the team hops across town to Anaheim for a game on Tuesday.

“I think that’s exactly what we needed – a game that’s not pretty at all, that’s a grind to the end, where your goalie is your best player, and you find a way to win,” Benn said.

The captain hit his face on the ice a week ago and stayed behind for the first three games of the six-game trip. He had to wear a visor – a rare experience for him – and was a little bit rusty in this game. He said he would likely take the visor off on Tuesday and that it feels good to get right into another game.

“I felt alright,” he said. “There are definitely little plays that need to be made, but overall I felt fine. Let’s get back at it and keep this thing rolling.”

For a Stars team that is now 27-10-9, that’s important. Dallas picked up points on both Colorado and Minnesota with the win, and that hasn’t been easy in recent weeks.

So, yes, it’s not always pretty, but it sure does feel good. And that’s been a storyline this team has found can be repeated on a fairly regular basis this season.

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 X @MikeHeika.