Jason Robertson’s ‘controlled desperation’ in 2-goal performance keeps Stars’ season alive

© Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News/TNS Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) celebrates with center Ty Dellandrea (10), defenseman Jani Hakanpää (2) and defenseman Esa Lindell (23) after scoring his second goal of the game to tie the score at 2-2 during the second period in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Western Conference finals against the Vegas Golden Knights at the American Airlines Center on Thursday, May 25, 2023, in Dallas.

Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said Thursday morning that the desperation had officially kicked in for the Stars trailing 3-0 entering Game 4.

But DeBoer said it couldn’t be just any desperation that showed up on the ice hours later.

“It has to be controlled desperation,” he said.

After Vegas took a 1-0 lead just 4:17 into the game, the need for a last-ditch effort by the Stars to save their season intensified.

And for Stars forward Jason Robertson, instinctual desperation kicked it.

His performance over the next 28 minutes may have been a better display of “controlled desperation” than DeBoer could’ve drawn up himself.

Robertson single-handedly brought the Stars back in the game after trailing twice — once in the first period and once in the second — to force overtime and give his team a shot at keeping its season alive.

“Some guys need to step up in Jamie Benn’s absence. We’re looking for goals. That’s kind of the responsibility I’ve put on myself,” he said. “I play on too good of a line to not create chances and opportunities.”

His first goal came on the Stars’ first power play of the day. Robertson scored on a triple-tip to himself, bouncing it off Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill and his own stick before tipping it into the net.

He scored his second on a backhand over Alec Martinez into a wide-open net, marking his first career multi-goal playoff game and putting him on hat-trick watch.

Robertson had a game-high 11 shots and hit the post in addition to his two goals. He seemed to be at the center of all the offensive action, and Vegas had no answer for him.

“We weren’t making them work on their own end, and they got through the neutral zone, so now they’re in the o-zone and that’s their bread and butter,” Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said about Robertson’s line.

Robertson’s night marks a stark contrast from when the team was preparing for the series just a week ago.

Amid an eight-game scoring drought, the Stars’ leading scorer in the regular season was nowhere to be found in the series against Seattle. Robertson, DeBoer and his teammates fielded countless questions about concern for his production and whether the Stars could keep their season alive if his slump continued.

Little did they know, it was the 23-year-old who prevented his team from suffering just its second playoff series sweep in franchise history.

“He’s a special athlete. That’s a special skill to be a scorer. When he’s feeling it, he looks like a totally different player,” DeBoer said. “He looks like he’s feeling that right now, so we want to keep him that way.”

Robertson scored in three of Dallas’ four games against Vegas — the only Dallas player to score multiple goals in the series. He tied Vegas’ William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault for most goals in the series. He and Karlsson were the only two to record multi-goal performances.

After keeping his team in it all game, it was Robertson’s linemate Joe Pavelski that sealed the win on an overtime power-play goal 3:18 into extra time.

“Their top players finished plays for them tonight,” Cassidy said. “When that happens, good things happen for your team.”

Robertson and his linemates booked a return trip to Vegas to continue their efforts at becoming just the fifth team in NHL history to recover from a 3-0 playoff deficit.

As the Stars pick up the pieces from a dismal start to the series, they’ll continue to lean on Robertson — one of the few in the locker room who seemed to have this series figured out from the start.

“It’s nice to see it finally go in,” he said. “You work for those bounces. I’ve been working really hard, so I want to continue that.”

Twitter: @Lassimak

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