The Dallas Stars need more from Robertson, Hintz, Johnston

Anthony Trudeau
Anthony Trudeau(atrud00)
The Dallas Stars need more from Robertson, Hintz, Johnston
Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The San Jose Sharks had no answers for Dallas Stars’ top unit during their Wednesday night matchup. The quickly improving Sharks were better than the 5-2 final score implied, but Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Wyatt Johnston were too big, too fast, and too good for the visiting team to stop, combining for three goals, seven points, and 12 shots on goal.

Robertson, arguably the Stars’ signature player, opened the scoring with a spinning effort past Mackenzie Blackwood in the first period. Early in the second, he sprung Hintz into the San Jose zone, where the Finn found Johnston to give Dallas a lead it never relinquished.

It wasn’t difficult to believe for anyone watching on Wednesday that Robertson was an NHL first-team All-Star in 2023, nor that his and Hintz’s size, speed, and two-way sensibility have made them a money duo for the Stars over the past five seasons. If anything, the line’s dominance outlined how bizarre their start to the season has been.

Before Wednesday, Robertson, who scored at nearly a 38-goal, 89-point pace from 2020-21 to 2023-24, had managed a measly eight points in his first 17 contests. Hintz, who buried 104 goals from 2021-22 to 2023-24, was only moderately more successful with six goals and 10 points.

The Stars haven’t panicked about their big guns because they haven’t had to. The veteran second line of Mason Marchment, Matt Duchene, and Tyler Seguin are all averaging more than a point a game and have kept Dallas’s offensive production in the top half.

“This past month, we’ve relied heavily on Duchy’s line,” Robertson conceded postgame. “It’s nice to see our line win us a game and really contribute.”

Goaltenders Jake Oettinger and backup Casey DeSmith are on fire at the other end, and, having conceded the fewest goals (42) of any team, Dallas is tracking for an impressive 109-point finish.

That’s all well and good. After consecutive Western Conference Final appearances, Pete DeBoer’s men know they’re an elite unit. Now, the goal isn’t to pile up points or earn home ice, it’s to finish the job. 

To do that, they need Robertson, Hintz, and even the 21-year-old Johnston to produce the sort of game-winning brilliance that looked so easy for them midweek. That it’s only come in fits and bursts so far is a painful reminder of the lengthy cold snap that doomed them last spring against the Edmonton Oilers.

In that series, Hintz and Robertson combined for a single point during the three-game skid that ended their season. It was hard to tell why; together at 5-on-5, they controlled more than 70% of scoring chances and nearly 80% of expected goals, but the inspired moments that separate the very good from the great eluded them.

Questions followed. Of whether Robertson had the goods to be the best forward on a championship team. Whether Hintz was a true 1C. Whether the rapidly developing Johnston would have to leapfrog both as Dallas’ primary difference maker for the Cup to come back to Texas. 

The top line’s frosty start has done little to silence those queries. Before Wednesday, Hintz and Robertson had managed just three combined points in their last five contests, and their sharp decrease in possession metrics implied the problem went beyond puck luck (51% of scoring chances, down from 61% last season). Johnston’s own struggles (3 G, 9 P in 18 GP), meanwhile, poured some cold water on his hype as the Stars’ new savior.

Perhaps Johnston’s reintroduction to the top line after a lengthy stint as third-line center was the spark all three players needed to shake something loose on offense. Perhaps Robertson needed those first 17 games to fully recover from the offseason foot procedure that kept him out of camp. Maybe Hintz, back on pace for 32 goals, has snapped out of his funk already and only needs some help from Robertson and Johnston for his paltry assist total (5 in 18 GP) to catch up.

Once again, Dallas has time to figure that out. General Jim Nill is the reigning two-time Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year for a reason, and his shrewd dealings have given the Stars a near-perfect mix of veterans like Duchene and captain Jamie Benn; young guns like Johnston and Calder contender Logan Stankoven (15 P in 18 GP); and primed stars like Robertson and Hintz. Even a blueline that’s surprisingly thin beyond Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley should be an easy fix in a robust trade market.

Balance is great, but as teams like the Stars and Carolina Hurricanes have found out repeatedly in the postseason, it’s no substitute for the star power offered by the Connor McDavids of the world. That has to come from Robertson, Hintz, and Johnston, and DeBoer knows it.

“We needed those guys to get going,” DeBoer said after the trio dismantled San Jose. “You can tell by their body language that it was a weight off their shoulders. Hopefully, that [win] is the start of some big things.”

For Dallas to cash in on Nill’s expert roster construction, it will have to be. Robertson is capable of big things, like the 46-goal, 109-point season that made him third runner-up for the Hart Trophy two years ago. Johnston could be too, if his 32-goal sophomore breakout and subsequent 10-goal 2024 postseason are any indication. Add Hintz, a perennial 30-goal-scorer and defensive ace, and you should have all the components of a championship-winning line. They looked the part on Wednesday, but if the Stars are tired of being a bridesmaid, they need to maintain that level the rest of the way.

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