Dallas Stars Fall 5-2 to Canadiens; Gulutzan Calls Puck Play ‘Atrocious’

DALLAS — The passes were close. Some crossed the crease without finding a stick. Others hit Montreal sticks before Dallas could turn possession into a shot.

There were better stretches Thursday than in Tuesday’s loss to New Jersey. But the Stars finished with 19 shots, another home defeat and a blunt assessment from coach Glen Gulutzan after Montreal’s 5-2 win at American Airlines Center.

“I think our puck play is atrocious,” Gulutzan said.

Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook scored twice each, and Phillip Danault added an empty-net goal as the Canadiens completed a four-game road sweep. Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn scored for Dallas, which fell to 7-5-1 after consecutive losses following a five-game winning streak.

The Stars killed all four Montreal power plays and scored once with the advantage. Their problems came elsewhere.

“You keep putting yourself in those situations,” Gulutzan said. “You frustrate yourself and then bad things happen.”

A Tie That Didn’t Last

Dallas generated early pressure, but Montreal settled into the period and began disrupting the Stars’ passing lanes.

Caufield opened the scoring before Johnston answered on the power play, finishing a feed from Mikko Rantanen. The equalizer gave Dallas something to build on. Instead, Newhook and Caufield scored 27 seconds apart late in the first, sending the Stars into intermission down 3-1.

Gulutzan saw problems carrying over from Tuesday’s 5-1 loss.

“Blue line was a major obstacle early,” he said. “We didn’t execute, poor execution by the forwards and D.”

He did not attribute that to a lack of effort. His concern was Dallas’ inability to complete plays that normally allow it to establish its offense.

“You can say maybe you’re lacking a little confidence and you’re a little tentative but the only way to get it is to dig in,” Gulutzan said. “You can’t hand somebody confidence, you’ve got to put in the work.”

Better Chances, Same Deficit

The Stars improved in the second, outshooting Montreal 9-3. But Newhook’s second goal extended the Canadiens’ lead to 4-1 before Benn answered.

After several Dallas passes had gone unconnected or been broken up, Rantanen found Benn from behind the net for a finish that brought the Stars within two.

Rantanen assisted on both Dallas goals. His assist on Benn’s goal was his 78th with the franchise, surpassing Kent Nilsson’s 77 for the most through a player’s first 100 games with the team, according to NHL Stats. Rantanen was playing his 97th regular-season game with Dallas.

The Stars had opportunities to get closer, including a second-period power play, but Jakub Dobes kept the two-goal margin intact.

“In the second it could’ve been a one goal game easily going into the third, but the finishing wasn’t there on a couple of chances,” Rantanen said. “So, we have to bear down.”

Dallas managed only three shots in the third. Two penalties in the final 12 minutes also left the Stars spending valuable comeback time shorthanded.

Johnston said Dallas needed to capitalize on its opportunities.

“You want to capitalize when you get those opportunities to make it a one-goal game,” he said.

Danault’s empty-net goal ended the comeback attempt. Montreal finished with a 21-19 advantage in shots.

Penalty Kill Holds, Taylor Debuts

Dallas’ penalty kill remained a strength. The Stars extended their streak to 26 consecutive successful kills across seven games, keeping Montreal from adding to its lead with the advantage.

Thursday also marked defenseman Trey Taylor’s NHL debut alongside Tyler Myers. Taylor signed with Dallas out of Clarkson University in March 2025 and became the fourth undrafted signing among the last five players to make their NHL debut with the Stars.

Those developments offered positives, but Dallas still left with the same larger concern: too many possessions ending before a scoring chance could develop.

Tyler Seguin described the performance as an improvement that remained below the team’s expectations.

“Obviously, better than the last one, but not good enough,” Seguin said. “Just in between.”

After two losses, his focus was on stopping the slide.

“That’s two, and we don’t want to make it three.”