DALLAS, Texas — The Dallas Stars had no trouble killing penalties Thursday night. Keeping Montreal from scoring at even strength was another story.
Dallas surrendered five goals in a 5-2 loss to the Canadiens at American Airlines Center, with four of those goals coming at five-on-five. The Stars went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, but that was about the only part of their defensive game that went according to plan.
Glen Gulutzan didn’t hide his frustration afterward.
The Stars struggled from the opening period, particularly when it came to moving the puck out of their own zone. Simple plays became difficult, and Montreal took advantage.
“Not near good enough,” Gulutzan said. “Blue line was a major obstacle early. We didn’t execute, poor execution by the forwards and D.”
Dallas played better in stretches during the second period, but the mistakes continued to show up. Gulutzan said the problem wasn’t necessarily effort. It was execution.
“Our puck play is atrocious,” he said. “It’s one of those things that when you make some play it ends up coming back.”
The loss also made it two straight for Dallas, something Tyler Seguin doesn’t want to see continue.
“Obviously, better than the last one, but not good enough,” Seguin said. “Just in between. I think making plays, playing simple and blue lines. Just not playing our brand that we typically do.”
There were a few positives for the Stars offensively. Wyatt Johnston recorded a goal and an assist, giving him nine points in nine career games against Montreal. Jamie Benn also scored, with Mikko Rantanen picking up the assist.
That assist gave Rantanen 78 with Dallas, moving him past Kent Nilsson for the most by a player through his first 100 games with the franchise, according to NHL Stats.
Rantanen wasn’t satisfied with the team’s performance, either.
“Being down three in the second, it’s hard to come back against good teams,” he said. “We gave up a couple of lazy ones again. We have to find a way to not give up those easy ones.”
The night also brought an NHL debut for defenseman Trey Taylor, who signed with Dallas in March 2025 after playing at Clarkson University. Taylor took the ice alongside Tyler Myers, making for quite a contrast in experience. Myers made his NHL debut in October 2009, more than 17 years before Taylor’s first game.
For Dallas, however, the debut and the special-teams success couldn’t change the result.
The Stars are having trouble playing the kind of hockey that made them successful earlier in the season. Gulutzan knows the answer isn’t complicated, but the team has to start executing the little things again.
As Seguin put it, two losses are enough. The Stars don’t want a third.
