OTTAWA, Ontario _ The hope was that the pieces would assemble themselves, that they would coalesce into a picturesque and deep forward corps capable of scoring beyond the excellence of the top line. Offseason acquisitions and improvement from rostered players would combine to erase a primary concern for new Stars coach Jim Montgomery.
Some nights, including Monday night's 4-1 loss in Ottawa, Montgomery does some of the work himself, splitting up one of the league's best lines in order to diversify his offense a bit. For the first time this season on Monday night, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov began a game on separate lines.
The Stars offense couldn't make Montgomery a winner, scoring again on the power play, but were shut out during even-strength play. Maxime Lajoie, Brady Tkachuk and Mikkel Boedker scored for the Senators, erasing John Klingberg's first-period power-play goal.
Entering Monday night, Montgomery wanted to recapture some of the magic he found during Saturday night's win over Anaheim. In that game, a first intermission adjustment was fruitful in an explosive second period. Benn and Seguin skated with Blake Comeau; Radulov with Valeri Nichushkin and Jason Spezza.
Montgomery labeled it the Stars' best offensive period of the season and tossed some of the credit to the newly assembled Spezza line. So he rolled them out again Monday night.
"I think it makes us a little bit more dynamic offensively and a little harder to match up against on the road," Montgomery said before the game.
Neither the problem nor the solution are foreign to the Stars. The top line has accounted for the majority of the Dallas offense this season and a major chunk of it last season. Line tinkering is not a novel fix. But it was the Stars' first chance to judge if the top line was worth breaking up. If they could contribute more while separated, the result would justify the process.
The reworked top two lines created offense. The Stars outshot and out-chanced the Senators when any of the top six forwards were on the ice at 5-on-5. But they couldn't break through, and a trio of poor defensive plays cost the Stars on the other end.
Julius Honka and Marc Methot didn't stop Lajoie from waltzing into the slot for a shot from the slot in transition. Tkachuk capitalized on a vacated slot to tip a shot past Bishop. Then Boedker reached around Methot to stretch the Senators lead.
But Monday served as a small quiz in a season that will be defined by a postseason appearance.
In Nichushkin, Spezza and Radulov, Montgomery grouped a pair of offensive-minded Russians with Spezza, who notched his fourth point of the season's first five games on Monday night.
"I think that's just Mother love of Russia is why there's a little chemistry there," Montgomery said. "Hope to keep it going."
Spezza added: "I can't say my Russian has gotten much better."
In adding Comeau to the top line with perennial Art Ross contenders Benn and Seguin, Montgomery wanted a worker. Comeau was a free-agent signing over the summer intended to play up and down the lineup, able to plug and play on all four lines because of his heavy forechecking, physical defensive game and occasional scoring.
On the top line, he could dig pucks out of the corners and create offensive opportunities for his linemates. Seguin said Comeau was "always in the right spot" early this season.
"Just hard-working," Seguin said. "Obviously a vocal guy in the room with leadership. On the ice, he's very good with his details. He works hard and he's competitive so it's good."
At times on Monday, Comeau helped create chances for the Stars. His shot on goal in the first period caromed to Seguin in front of the net, where he drew a penalty.
"Those guys are so good with the puck and if I can get around the net, win some of those one-on-one battles, those scrums and get those guys that puck," Comeau said.
There was reason to be optimistic about the combinations entering Monday night. When both Benn and Seguin were on the ice for the Stars at 5-on-5, Dallas was scoring 8.4 goals per 60 minutes. In about five minutes of ice time Saturday night, Nichushkin and Radulov helped the Stars produce nine scoring chances.
And there'll likely be optimism heading into Tuesday should the lines remain the same. After all, it is just one data point in the second week of the six-month season.
