At 8:52 of the second period, Jamie Benn scored to pull Dallas within two goals. The Stars had 31:08 of regulation remaining to make Montreal uncomfortable. Instead, their third-period shot total stopped at five, while two Dallas penalties removed four more minutes from a pursuit that already needed to be efficient.
Montreal’s 5-2 victory at American Airlines Center was not decided by Phillip Danault’s empty-net goal at 19:12. That goal supplied the final margin. The more revealing stretch came before it, when Dallas had a manageable deficit, a power-play chance and plenty of clock, yet could not turn the chase into sustained attacking pressure. The unfinished pursuit was more troubling than the final margin.
Benn’s goal created a reasonable opening because Alex Newhook had just given the Canadiens their first three-goal lead. Newhook scored at 6:11 of the second to make it 4-1, and Benn answered 2:41 later.
The Stars had already survived the worst early swing: Montreal turned a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 deficit for Dallas with goals from Newhook at 16:05 and Cole Caufield 27 seconds later. Benn’s finish did not erase that damage, but it put Dallas two goals away with an entire period still ahead.
The first useful opportunity of that period arrived at 5:41, when Arber Xhekaj was penalized for interference. Dallas received a power play and did not score. At 8:46, Thomas Harley was called for interference; at 13:47, Lian Bichsel took a slashing penalty. The penalties were separate, but together they cost Dallas four minutes at even strength while the Stars needed attacking opportunities.
Penalty trouble was part of the problem, not the whole explanation. Montreal also produced only five third-period shots. This was not a final frame in which the Canadiens buried Dallas beneath a barrage and forced the Stars into pure defense.
Dallas’ third-period shots on goal came at 4:56, 6:55, 13:38, 14:13 and 17:33. The gaps are the point: two shots on goal arrived before the seven-minute mark, then three more in the final 12:27, with a long stretch between the second and third.
The larger distribution looks similarly restrained. Dallas had seven shots in each of the first two periods and finished with 19; Montreal had 21. Jakub Dobes stopped 17 Dallas shots, while Jake Oettinger finished with 16 saves on 20 shots, excluding Danault’s empty-net goal.
Neither goalie spent the third period dealing with an avalanche. Montreal protected a two-goal lead while facing fewer chances than Dallas needed to create.
The Canadiens also deserve credit for making their limited offense count. Newhook scored twice on two shots, and Caufield scored twice on three. Their rapid first-period sequence changed the evening: Newhook’s goal at 16:05 made it 2-1, then Caufield scored 27 seconds later for 3-1.
Newhook’s second goal first opened a three-goal gap in the second. Montreal’s finishing gave Dallas a steep hill; Dallas’ quiet third period left too little road.
There were productive contributions in the Stars’ two goals. Wyatt Johnston scored the first-period power-play goal and assisted on Benn’s finish, while Mikko Rantanen assisted on both. Benn had two shots in 11:58 of ice time, and Johnston finished with a goal and an assist.
