The Capitals spent Tuesday night chasing a hole. Jason Robertson dug it in just over five minutes. In the end, the Capitals Stars game finished 6 to 5 for Dallas at Capital One Arena. It was Washington’s second straight home loss.

Robertson’s fast hat trick

Joel Kiviranta gave Dallas a 1 to 0 lead in the first period. Then Robertson took over early in the second.

First, he scored on the power play 23 seconds into the period. Next, he scored at 3:18. Finally, he scored again at 5:43. That natural hat trick took 5 minutes and 20 seconds. In fact, it was the third fastest in Stars history.

After the fourth goal, the Caps pulled Logan Thompson. He had allowed four goals on 11 shots. Charlie Lindgren came on and made nine saves.

“It’s been a couple times in my career where a couple go in right away, and then you’re just feeling it, and then just stick with it,” Robertson said.

Caps fight back

Still, Washington did not fold. Jordan Kyrou scored on the power play. Then Boone Jenner beat Jake Oettinger five hole. Later, Jakob Chychrun scored on another power play with 30 seconds left in the period. Suddenly, it was 5 to 3.

Roope Hintz scored early in the third to push the lead back to three. However, the Caps scored twice more. Ryan Leonard scored the last one with an extra attacker and 1:02 left. Even so, they could not find the tying goal. Oettinger finished with 20 saves.

What they said

Spencer Carbery liked the response. “I appreciated the way the guys battled and stayed in it,” he said.

Kyrou also had two assists. He pointed to the second period. “The second period just kind of got away from us,” he said.

With the loss, Washington falls to 8-6-0. Next, the Caps finish their three game homestand on Saturday against Florida.