The first period proved troublesome again for Dallas.
DALLAS - The Stars (7-3-1) suffered their second consecutive loss on Monday night, falling 3-2 to the Bruins (10-1-1) at the American Airlines Center.
Forwards Wyatt Johnston and Joe Pavelski scored for Dallas, while goaltender Jake Oettinger made 26 saves.
Meanwhile, veteran forward Matt Duchene didn't play because of an upper-body injury. He's listed as day-to-day.
Here are a few key takeaways from the game:
Falling behind early... again: The Stars continue to be plagued by slow starts.
Head coach Pete DeBoer's contingent trailed 2-0 after 20 minutes and surrendered 14 shots on goal.
"I think I expected that we might come out a little flat tonight coming back from the road trip, so this is one of those ones where you give them a little bit of leeway," said DeBoer. "Unfortunately, we were down 2-0, so that’s a tough hole to get out of against a good defensive team."
Dallas continues to struggle offensively in the opening stanza with just five first-period goals through 11 games.
That ranks them at the bottom of the League alongside St. Louis, just one tally ahead of the Sharks, who own an abysmal 0-10-1 record on the year.
"We know that’s an issue. It’s something that we talk about and we’re trying to address. It’s been hit-or-miss," shared DeBoer. "We’ve had some good starts, but more poor ones than good ones, so it’s definitely on our radar. It’s something I know we’re capable of getting fixed."
Comeback bid stalled: The Stars definitely picked up the pace in the second and third periods to fight their way back into the contest.
Johnston's tip-in goal at the 5:09 mark of the final frame cut the Bruins' lead to 2-1, but an untimely holding the stick penalty to Mason Marchment four-and-a-half minutes later led to more trouble.
It took Brad Marchand just six seconds to restore Boston's two-goal advantage.
Marchment wasn't given another shift after that.
"Poor penalty, poor timing, no sugarcoating that. I’d like to say it was a bad call, but it was a penalty," said DeBoer. "You can’t do that at that point where we battled back into the game. He’s a smarter, better player than that."
Pavelski also tipped a puck past netminder Jeremy Swayman with 28 seconds left in regulation to make things interesting, but that's as close as Dallas would ultimately get.
Swayman finished the game with 35 saves on 37 shots.
Well done, Wyatt: Johnston snapped a three-game scoring drought with his fourth goal of the season.
The 20-year-old Toronto native, who lives with the Pavelskis, appears to be picking up some valuable tricks of the trade from his landlord.
Pavelski, of course, is a magician when it comes to tipping pucks.
"I think seeing Joe and seeing how many goals he scores tipping pucks and how much he works on it, that’s one thing I worked on a fair amount this summer," admitted Johnston. "It’s crucial and it’s tough to defend. It’s definitely something I’ve got a pretty good roommate to learn from."
Up next: The Stars embark on another three-game road trip with stops in Columbus (Nov. 9), Winnipeg (Nov. 11) and Minnesota (Nov. 12).