Stars win, Robertson gets 1st 100-point season in Dallas
DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson had a power-play goal and three assists to become the first Dallas player with a 100-point season, and the Stars clinched a playoff spot with a 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.
Joe Pavelski added a power-play and an assist while backup Scott Wedgewood stopped 26 shots in his first game in more than six weeks after being sidelined by a lower body injury.
Robertson reached 100 points — then 101 — in his first home game since setting Dallas’ single-season scoring record two games earlier. He has two goals and eight assists in that three-game stretch, starting Friday in Arizona when his goal and three assists pushed him past the previous Dallas single-season record of 93 points set by Hall of Famer Mike Modano in 1993-94, the franchise's first season after moving from Minnesota.
After two more assists Saturday at Colorado to get to 97 points, Robertson had two assists against the Preds before his goal 8 1/2 minutes into the third period for his 43rd goal and 100th point. He then got another assist on Tyler Seguin's goal after that.
Dallas is going to the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, with its third different coach in that span. First-year Stars coach Pete DeBoer previously took New Jersey and San Jose to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season with those clubs. The Stars have 98 points with five games left.
The Stars lost a first-round series in seven games to Calgary last season under Rick Bowness, who was their interim coach when they went to the Stanley Cup final during the pandemic-impacted 2019-20 season was completed in the NHL bubble in Canada. Dallas made it to the second round of the 2019 playoffs with coach Jim Montgomery.
The Stars completed a four-game series sweep of the Predators, who with 84 points and six games remaining are five points behind Winnipeg for the Western Conference’s second wild-card berth. The Jets and Calgary, which is also three points ahead of Nashville, both have five games left.
Robertson had a nifty pass from behind the net to Roope Hintz for the game's first goal. It was the 35th goal for Hintz, who had brought the puck across the blue line, dumped it off and got it back after several passes, including Pavelski’s secondary assist.
Colin Miller made it 2-0 with 50-foot slap shot that came soon after Wyatt Johnston and Tyler Seguin had shots ricochet off the same right post behind All-star goalie Juuse Saros only a minute apart. Pavelski’s 25th goal made it 3-0 late in the second period when was he in front of the crease to knock in a nifty pass from Miro Heiskanen, who had two assists.
NOTES: The Stars had a goal less than two minutes into the game taken away after a Nashville challenge. Replay showed clearly that Seguin was offside in the rush. ... Wedgewood played in his 19th game this season, after missing 19 since his previous game Feb. 18.
UP NEXT
Predators: Host Vegas on Tuesday to wrap up a back-to-back against playoff contenders they were chasing.
Stars: Play the second of three home games in a row, Thursday against Philadelphia.
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