Jason Robertson needed only a few minutes to take over.

The Dallas Stars forward scored a natural hat trick early in the second period Tuesday night. The Stars then held on to beat the Washington Capitals 6-5.

Robertson's three goals came in a span of 5 minutes, 20 seconds. It was the third-fastest natural hat trick in team history.

Three in a row

His first goal came just 23 seconds into the second period. He skated into the left circle on the power play and beat goalie Logan Thompson.

On his second, Robertson cut back to dodge a hit along the boards and fired the puck inside the far post.

His third was a snap shot from the point through traffic. It made the score 4-0 and chased Thompson from the game.

The goals were Robertson's sixth, seventh and eighth of the season.

Hanging on

Mikko Rantanen scored later in the second period. Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist. Joel Kirvanta scored first for Dallas in the first period.

Washington kept coming. The Capitals scored twice on the power play to get within 5-3 by the end of the second period.

Ryan Leonard made it 6-5 with 1:02 left with the Capitals' goalie pulled. Dallas held on from there.

Jordan Kyrou had a goal and two assists for Washington. Jake Oettinger made 20 saves for Dallas.

The Stars have now picked up points in five straight road games. They visit Columbus on Thursday.