On the good side of this non-win is the fact the Stars did play well for long stretches of the game. They dominated the second period, they finally scored with the man advantage (and finally had more power plays than the opposition), and they started to see inspired play by their best players.
Seguin had six shots on goal and won 69 percent of his faceoffs (nine-of-16), Alexander Radulov had five shots on goal and hit the post in overtime, Joe Pavelski had six shot attempts and won five-of-six draws. There was much to like in this one, and much that could be duplicated going forward.
If the Stars can do that, then results could turn out much better.
"I think we played better today," said defenseman John Klingberg. "I think we had some really good looks. Our power play was a lot better, too, we got one, but we could have had more. I think if we keep playing like this, we're going to get the result as well."
We can argue who should be shooting in the shootout, because that's the fun part of sports. We can ponder whether coaches are learning, whether players are learning, whether the team is on the right path toward improvement. It's one of the reasons we watch the game -- to analyze and imagine what's ahead.
The Stars adjusted and improved against the Flames, and that was a good sign, Montgomery said.
"In the first four to six minutes, they used walls well on us. Defensively, we weren't making right reads so we were giving up odd man rushes. That put us on our heels, but we were skating," Montgomery said.