WINNIPEG, Manitoba — In five words, following the Stars’ 3-2 overtime loss in Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon, coach Jim Montgomery expressed his frustration with his two highest-paid players. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn weren’t mentioned by name, but they’ll get the message.

Are you disappointed with the scoring of the top players right now?

“Very disappointed,” Montgomery said.

Are you seeing signs of progress?

“No. Are you?”

Benn and Seguin were scoreless on Sunday, marking the 14th time in 18 games that the franchise cornerstones have not found the back of the net. Benn tied a career-high by extending his goalless drought to 13 games on Sunday, something he hadn’t done since his rookie season a decade ago. Seguin has one goal in his last 14 games.

Benn doesn’t have a goal at even-strength. Seguin doesn’t have one on the power play.

“I don’t think they’re driving pucks too often,” Montgomery said. “In general, our team, not driving pucks to hard areas enough.”

While Benn and Seguin were held off the scoreboard again, the Stars now have points in eight of the last nine games, and carry an 8-8-2 record after a horrid 1-7-1 start. Mattias Janmark and Radek Faksa scored for the Stars, as Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele scored the game-winning goal in overtime on a 2-on-1 just 21 seconds into the extra period.

Anton Khudobin made 26 saves in the loss, the first game of a four-game road trip through Western Canada.

For the Jets, their best players showed up on the box score. Patrik Laine and his $6.75 million cap hit blasted a power-play goal in the first period. Scheifele and his $6.125 million cap hit finished the game.

Seguin, meanwhile, is in the first year of an eight-year contract extension that has a $9.85 million cap hit and a $13.5 million salary this season. He tied for the team lead Sunday with five shots on goal, but has topped that figure just once in the season’s first 18 games.

Benn is in the third year of an eight-year contract extension that has a $9.5 million cap hit and a $13 million salary this season. On Sunday, he played a season-low 13:03 and received more ice time than just two other Stars forwards.

Among the 50 highest paid forwards in the NHL this season, only three have one or fewer goals. Benn is one of them. Ottawa’s Bobby Ryan has become a healthy scratch for the rebuilding Senators. The Islanders’ Jordan Eberle has played just six games due to injury.

What can Montgomery do to fix it?

“Reduce ice time, we’ve tried,” Montgomery said. “We’re trying video, 1-on-1 sessions, all those things. They got to decide that they want to be a difference maker. I mean, look who scored for the Jets. We got really good big goals by Janmark and Faksa and that’s our third and fourth line.”

The public criticism from their own organization isn’t new for Benn and Seguin after Stars CEO Jim Lites ripped into them last December for their slow start to the season. That scolding came nearly three full months into the season, when the Stars were in a playoff spot. Dallas has yet to own a winning record this season.

The Stars recent turnaround has been fueled by injections of offense from unexpected places. Denis Gurianov and Roope Hintz’s breakouts have been exciting. Faksa, Janmark and Jason Dickinson have added offense to their responsible defensive game. Alexander Radulov had a hat trick and Joe Pavelski has five points in the last five games.

Benn and Seguin have been largely missing.

When Benn was asked if he was frustrated with his personal scoring drought, he paused for eight seconds and said “No, not really, actually.” Did he feel the chances were there for him and they would start turning into goals?

“You get pretty much at least one Grade-A scoring chance a game,” Benn said. “You either put it in the back of the net, or you don’t. From there, you either continue to get chances in each game or you try and set your teammates up. There’s chances there, just got to find a way to put it in the back of the net.”

Benn and Seguin currently own the worst shooting percentages of their careers, and that should rebound and result in more goals. Benn is at 2.6% when his career average entering the season was 13.5; Seguin at 5.5% when his career average was 11.1%.

But the underlying figures are more troublesome.

Per 60 minutes of 5-on-5, both Benn and Seguin would submit career-low figures in shot attempts, shots on goal and scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. In other words, not only are they not scoring when they have opportunities, but they’re generating fewer ones than they ever have before.

The Stars under Montgomery have not played an offensive style, instead banking the season on strong goaltending and limiting scoring chances from the slot. But the system hasn’t stopped Hintz (nine goals), Radulov (five), Faksa (five), Gurianov (four) or Miro Heiskanen (four) from finding the back of the net.

“We believe that with our system, we’re going to get chances,” Benn said. “Haven’t been successful just because we’ve been lucky as of late. It’s because we believe in what we’re doing. Just got to stick with that.”

On many levels, it’s paramount that Benn and Seguin begin producing. In the long term, they are the pieces with the most money invested in them, with ironclad no movement clauses that tie them to Dallas, in part responsible for the Stars operating at the salary cap. In the short term, the Stars are without Hintz (for at least a week longer) and John Klingberg (for between one to three more weeks), engines for their offense at their best.

“You need your No. 1 center, you need your No. 1 left winger to step up and do more,” Montgomery said.