Throw away the GPS; the Dallas Stars found their No. 1 star. He’s in Edmonton.

Hit “PAUSE” on Jason Robertson’s transformation into Dak Prescott.

When Robertson’s team desperately needed him to show up and do something on the stat sheet besides 1 SOG, the Dallas Stars forward scored a hat trick, and his team won Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals in Edmonton.

On Monday night, the Stars defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-3, and now lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Edmonton.

The Dallas Mavericks are one win away from reaching the NBA Finals, against the Boston Celtics.

The Dallas Stars are two wins away from reaching the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals, against the winner of the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers.

That the Stars and Mavericks are both so close to reaching their respective Finals here in 2024 is almost as unlikely as the Texas Rangers winning the World Series in 2023. Almost.

That the Stars and Mavericks are both so close to reaching their respective Finals here in 2024 is almost as unlikely the Dallas Cowboys ever playing in the NFC Championship game before the year 3024.

The Stars were the favorites coming into this series, and on Monday night, after a terrible first period, showed more signs of playing to that distinction. It really helped that one of their top goal scorers finally started scoring goals.

Robertson scored two goals in the second period to tie the game at two, and completed the hat trick in the third period that would be the game winner. Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen provided an empty net goal with less than two minutes remaining for the final score.

Robertson snapped a 10-game streak here in these playoffs without a goal.

Coming into Monday’s game, Robertson too often did not look like he belonged in this series. He looked small, and was barely visible in either Games 1 or 2.

The Oilers are a top-heavy team, with the best player in the world in forward Connor McDavid; they’re more like the Colorado Avalanche than the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Stars beat both teams en route to these West Finals, but the styles are different.

Robertson played better against Vegas than he did against Colorado.

There have been times so far during this postseason when he’s been an effective offensive player, the player the Stars relied on during the regular season when he was one of their top scorers. There have been a frustrating number of times when he is too easily pushed out of the play.

In Games 1 and 2 against Edmonton, he looked more like a finesse player who couldn’t create space to get a shot on net.

This can happen in the playoffs with high-end skill players, like Robertson; in the playoffs, space is tighter, power plays are less frequent, and often the best place to score a goal is located in the hardest location on the ice, right in front of the goalie.

If the Stars are to win the Stanley Cup, which they can, Robertson has to be one of their top offensive players.

This is a point that Stars coach Pete DeBoer has subtly made during this postseason, and it’s a truism of Stanley Cup playoff hockey. If you’re best players aren’t your best players, you’re finished.

Against Edmonton in Game 3, the Stars best players, most notably Jason Robertson, were all over the stat sheet, and they won.