5 takeaways: Lack of puck management dooms Stars in loss to Canadiens

DALLAS --Perhaps down the road if the Stars are firmly in a playoff spot, Tuesday's game won't mean as much in the long run. But if they're out of the race or just a few points outside, their 5-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens will be a standout in the worst possible way.

This was a game the Stars should've won. They needed to win this game as a reset for an upcoming four-game road trip. Instead, they've dropped three straight and have seen their five-game home winning streak snapped.
They've only won four games on the road, which is only one more than the Canadiens now.
Here are the five takeaways of the game.

SEVEN POWER PLAYS, ONE GOAL

The Stars had two prime opportunities to open the scoring on the power play in the first period and came up empty. Then, trailing by two goals, they had a chance to cut that deficit in half late in the middle frame, but couldn't.
Down by one entering the third, they had a chance to even the score, but instead gave up a shorthanded marker to Tyler Toffoli that restored Montreal's two-goal lead.
Montreal entered the game with the 29th-ranked penalty kill in the league, operating at only 74%.

ROUGH NIGHT FOR OETTINGER

It won't always be smooth sailing for the young netminder, and Tuesday was a harsh reminder. Jake Oettinger gave up five goals on just 19 shots before getting pulled for Braden Holtby. Stars coach Rick Bowness called it growing pains.
Oettinger entered the game with a 9-3-0 record, 2.47 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.

SO MANY CHANCES

The Stars had every opportunity to either take a lead in the first period or claw their way back in the game but couldn't capitalize. Grade A chance after Grade A chance either caught the iron or was stopped by Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault. In fact, the Stars recorded an eye-opening 110 shot attempts.
It could've been a completely different outcome had Michael Raffl's shorthanded bid in the late stages of the second period gone in, but video replay proved inconclusive.
Montembeault was simply sensational in a 48-save performance.

PETERSON, BOY WONDER

Elevated to the top line in the absence of Jason Robertson, Jacob Peterson scored an impressive goal in the final minutes of the second period with a mid-air swipe that would make longtime Rangers infielder Michael Young proud.
It marked the rookie's sixth goal and eighth point of the season.

MONTEMBEAULT'S EPIC PERFORMANCE

Sometimes a goalie just has a night. For Montembeault, that moment came Tuesday. The 25-year-old netminder turned aside 48 of 51 shots, including 21 of 23 in the third period alone, to come out of American Airlines Center victorious.
Pucks were sticking to him. He was seeing almost everything shot his way and he even got a little help from the posts.
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.