DALLAS – If you only looked at the results of the two brothers’ head-to-head matches, it would be hard to see Jason Robertson as a player with a $31 million contract, a 40-goal season and a stellar playoff performance.
Because when big brother Jason’s Dallas Stars meet Nick Robertson’s Toronto Maple Leafs, little brother always has the upper hand.
Nick improved his record to 5-0 against Jason following Toronto’s 5-3 comeback win at American Airlines Center on Wednesday.
With his conflicted mother, Mercedes, wearing a Stars sweater and Maple Leafs cap, watching from the stands, Nick has now scored three goals. Jason didn’t.
“I have to put aside my feelings for him and help the team win,” Nick said. “I mean, it’s great to see him. But it’s hard because you want to win, you want to do your best. I know he’s on the other side. It’s a little weird.
“I want the best for my brother, but I also want the best for the team.”
Fans should have similarly mixed feelings about Wednesday’s clash between two of hockey’s stingiest teams, two perennial contenders.
The Maple Leafs got off to a slow start, falling behind 16-4 in 20 minutes after getting into danger territory early.
However, with Toronto goaltender Joseph Wall undoubtedly being the first star of the night and Wall’s old friend Jake Oettinger being chased down shortly after missing four of his first eight shots, the Leafs ultimately Victory was achieved.
“He put teams on back-to-backs in situations like this,” William Nylander said of Wall’s 38 handstand saves, including a 4-for-4 penalty save.
What’s been the most notable thing about Wall’s performance since learning that co-star Anthony Stolarz will miss four to six weeks recovering from knee surgery?
“Same as always,” Bobby McMahon said. “It’s just his composure. It feels calm, cool down there. We’ve always trusted him. Technically, always very sound. It seems like he’s comfortable shooting the ball, and I don’t think he’s giving up a lot of shots. So, He was great at the back and showed his athleticism in a couple of saves, which saved us again.”
Whether it was Roope Hintz’s 10 points on a breakaway or Miro Heiskanen’s 10 points on a 2-on-1 rush, Wall hung in there long enough. , allowing the Maple Leafs’ speedy third line to fuel the team’s comeback on a relatively quiet night. Superstar.
It was two impactful games in a row for Robertson, McMahon and Max Domi, who each defeated the human-looking Oettinger in a match.
“We just trust ourselves to do our job and the next guy will do his job and we’re just competing. It’s No. 1, competing to get the puck back and when the puck is on our stick, obviously these guys Can make a difference and has been showing that,” McMahon said.
In Robertson’s case, the bubble winger has to not only compete with his brother or his teammates, but also stay in the lineup.
He had been through four healthy scratches before his recent stellar run.
“I want to be in every fight. That’s my goal,” said Nick, who didn’t say a word to Jason during the fight. “He didn’t talk to anyone, whether you were his brother, his best friend or nobody.
“I respect him and then I don’t talk to him. So, it’s a business issue and we have to go out there and compete against each other.”
Wall’s ascension and this newfound wave of bottom-six scoring are timely, as the top-six has been outscored in Stolarz’s absence.
It’s a reminder that relying on the same people to get the job done every night is not a long-term recipe for spring.
It goes without saying that a contender needs great goaltending.
But a third line that not only kills the clock but makes a real impact on the scoreboard is also essential.
“They skate hard, win battles, make little plays, get to the front line and get to the net. Yeah, they’re great for us,” Nylander said.
“That’s what’s important. There’s still a long way to go, but in the playoffs, that’s what you expect from your team. Everybody’s clicking, everybody’s scoring.”
• Nylander has played 635 games with Toronto but can’t remember skating on the same line as Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner for a full 60 minutes — and Beruub warns against fancy pregame .
“I don’t think we’ve ever quite played a game together,” Nylander said before putting a tarp over the room.
So, what about Coach, $35.65 million?
“I know they scored goals and had some chances and stuff like that. Personally, I thought they were a little rested tonight – like a lot of us. I didn’t think they played their best game,” Berube said. “But we’ll see.”
The Super Lines led 2-1 and 8-6.
Equally concerning was the fact that Toronto’s second unit of John Tavares, Max Pacioretty and Matthews Nese didn’t get a single shot or scoring opportunity all night.
Despite a few wins, the current top six feels like a short-lived experiment.
• Meanwhile, back on the farm, Matt Murray made 27 saves for the Marlies in Wilkes-Barre as the veteran goaltender First start since “tweaking” a few things last week.
“It’s encouraging. It’s good for him and the Marises. The guy has a lot of experience and he wins,” Berube said. “So, we’re going to look at everything and make some decisions.”
The Maple Leafs have relatively weak back-to-back games this weekend against the Sabers and Islanders.
Dennis Hieldby fourth start, or team turning to Murray?
• Captain Jamie Benn was praised for setting a new Dallas Stars record with 1,143 games played.
However, the record should have an asterisk.
If you include his appearances with the Minnesota North Stars, which moved south in 1993, the previous record holder, Mike Modano, had 1,459 appearances.
• This week, the Stars treated Make-A-Wish kid Holden McCoy as a full-fledged NHL player, inviting him on the bench, on the ice and in the locker room.
Coach Pete DeBoer has so far taken the eighth-grader to the club’s pregame meetings to prepare for the Maple Leafs. But I forgot to hand him the earmuffs.
“I think we got a little dirty this morning, but we’re trying to keep it clean,” DeBoer said.
“He’s had a great experience and having him around brings a lot of energy to our team. Especially this time of year when the season starts to get longer and the whole team is sick with the flu, it really gives you some Great perspective.”
• DeBoer talks about Chris Tanev’s role in helping the Stars reach the 2024 conference finals:
“He’s really solidified our defensive unit. “We played big, hard, heavy minutes against all teams, top players,” the coach said. “If you look at our path to the playoffs last year , you’ll find we had (Jack) Eichel in the first round in Las Vegas, we had (Nathan) MacKinnon and Colorado in the second round, (Connor) McDay in the third round Victoria and Edmonton. He’s playing against all these guys every night. Much of what we did here last year. “
