Stars draw boos, fall to one of West’s worst as losing streak extends to four games

It took 40 minutes.

But after the horn sounded at the end of the second period a noticeable number of boos rained down from the crowd.

And the Stars earned them.

On Thursday night at American Airlines Center, the Stars played arguably their worst game this season.

Entering the game, the Los Angeles Kings occupied last place in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division.

But despite the relatively back-and-forth nature of the game (the pace of play was all over the map), Los Angeles found multiple ways to put the puck in the back of the net.

Dallas did not in a 2-1 defeat.

The home team’s competitive level (something coach Jim Montgomery harps on, constantly) coupled with the result, were surprising.

On Tuesday night, this group put together a solid effort against the Lightning. Tampa Bay won 2-0, but the Stars’ attention to details in all three zones (save for the power play) held the league’s deepest and most talented team in check for most of the evening.

The attention to detail was seldom present Thursday night.

Often, the Stars allowed short-handed opportunities, failed to cover up key rebounds and were unable to capitalize on scoring chances.

Most of all, the players a lack of urgency that exemplifies what Montgomery called a “culture of mediocrity” last week.

And the Kings didn’t even play starting goalie Jonathan Quick.

Jack Campbell, who was once considered the goalie of the future in Dallas (he was drafted 11th overall in 2010), made 29 saves for LA.

It didn’t help matters that Alexander Radulov did not play in the final 10 minutes of the first period.

Radulov, who reportedly missed Monday’s practice for a maintenance day, said after the game he was benched in the first period for talking back to Montgomery.

But Radulov did return for the second and third periods.

The Stars have now failed to collect a point in their past four games and have been outscored 9-3 over that span. Three of those losses took place on home ice.

Dallas finally applied consistent pressure throughout the third period.

With a little over a minute to go in the third, Esa Lindell floated a shot that found the twine and spoiled Campbell’s shutout. Ultimately, it was too little, too late.

Things won’t get any easier on Saturday when the Central Division-leading Winnipeg Jets come to town.