In Columbus, the Stars’ Jason Robertson’s third period goal was the difference maker on Monday night as he gave Dallas a 2-0 lead en route to a 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets.
It was Robertson’s 24th marker of the campaign.
Jake Oettinger made 27 saves in the Dallas win.
“I thought the first period was a little loose,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “I thought in the second and third we tightened up defensively. We just couldn’t extend the lead to really put them in a hole. Got to give them credit for hanging around to the end.
“Every time you win a game like this you learn some things and guys get put in situations. I liked our patience. … We didn’t extend ourselves looking for the second goal.”
The Stars improved to 19-8-6, were 3-1-1Â on the five-game roadie.
“Tough road trip. We kept it pretty peanut butter and jelly, pretty simple,” Dallas captain Jamie Benn said. “Their goalie was really good. It was our first time seeing him. And then Jake is Jake. He comes to play every night and battles for us and gives us a chance.
“I thought we had a lot of good looks on them. They had hit a few posts, or more than a few, probably.”
Kent Johnson was the lone striker for the Blue Jackets, his goal cut into the lead at 2-1.
“There’s a lot of guys here who can score goals,” Columbus forward Gustav Nyquist said. “We’ve got to bear down when we get those opportunities.”
Columbus dropped to 10-19-2.
“Most goalies want to get into a rhythm if they can,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “That was a big reason I wanted to see him. He looked very comfortable tonight. Every time you see him in there, he does look more comfortable.”
Dallas took a 1-0 lead with 55 seconds of clean ice used in the middle frame on a goal from Wyatt Johnston .
“I just tried to get open and the puck just popped to me, and I just tried to put it in,” Johnston said. “We played a lot of good teams on this road trip, so I think we did a really good job playing in some tough buildings and getting points.”
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Daniil Tarasov made 32 saves in the Blue Jackets loss.
“I’m trying to do my best to help with the guys,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t happen, so I just keep working on it.”
Tarasov has started five games in a row with the rest of the goalies in the COlumbus roster injured or doing poorly.
“Most goalies want to get into a rhythm if they can,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “That was a big reason I wanted to see him. He looked very comfortable tonight. Every time you see him in there, he does look more comfortable.”
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