5 takeaways: Another quiet night offensively leads to third straight loss

Nothing comes easy for the Stars, who all season have had to do things the hard way. Now, after losing their third consecutive game - a 4-2 loss in Calgary - they're going to have to get it together on their season-ending (and season defining) four-game homestand.

Fredrik Karlstrom looked good in his NHL debut on Thursday. Joel Kiviranta, Marián Studenič and Jacob Peterson brought good energy. Jake Oettinger returned to form despite giving up three goals. While that's all good, the Stars still lost.
Here are the five takeaways of the game.

OETTINGER RETURNS TO FORM

The Stars needed Oettinger to be at his best, and that's what he was for most of the game in his return to the crease.
Of his 33 saves were two incredible stops on Oliver Kylington and Elias Lindholm in the first and second periods, respectively. Both were point blank off feeds from Johnny Gaudreau.

LACK OF SCORING

Finally, someone other than Jason Robertson or Roope Hintz scored for Dallas. It was Luke Glendening, who potted a rebound in the third period for his ninth goal of the season. Up to that point, no one else scored over the past two-plus games other than Robertson and Hintz.
The Stars are going to have to find production elsewhere over their final four games of the season. Doesn't matter who, but someone - anyone - needs to step up.

POWER PLAY FINALLY STRIKES

No sugarcoating it, the Stars' power play looked ugly until Robertson's goal at the 11:53 mark of the second period.
Zone entries especially gave the Stars trouble, but it helps when you can win the initial draw on the power play. The Stars did that, Robertson corralled the puck at the right faceoff dot and buried it for his team-leading 38th goal of the season.

KARLSTROM'S MEMORABLE NHL DEBUT

The 24-year-old rookie took to the ice for his first career NHL game, skating on a line with Glendening and Peterson. The trio came through with a big goal five minutes into the third period.
Racing down the ice on a breakaway, Karlstrom's shot was denied by Jacob Markstrom. But the veteran netminder wasn't able to secure the biscuit, which Glendening tapped in to tie the game.

Karlstrom's had a good season with the Texas Stars (his first pro season in North America), recording 16 goals and 29 points in 65 games at the time of his recall.
The Stockholm, Sweden native was selected in the third round (90th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft and spent the previous two seasons with Växjö of the Swedish Hockey League.

FIRST PERIOD SHOWED PROMISE

The Stars needed to have some urgency in their game, and it showed in the opening frame. Though neither team scored, Dallas looked strong on 5-on-5 by winning board battles, winning races to loose pucks and generating quality scoring chances. There was desperation in their game, something we didn't see in their previous two games on the road.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Kyle Shohara is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter @kyleshohara.