The Dallas Stars need to start winning and they need to start winning soon. Luckily enough for Dallas, just about every team in the Central Division lost in the past two days.

The only team that found a way to a win was the division-leading Winnipeg Jets. And so while the Stars didn’t lose ground with Thursday’s 1-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings –as they are only one point ahead of the Minnesota Wild in fourth– they will continue to drop if they can’t find their way to a win. Everyone thought the homestand would help correct the Stars and get them going with home ice and a favoring crowd, but the issues seem to run deeper than home ice can even help fix.

This Dallas Stars team looks like a team with a losing record –they look defeated– despite the fact coming into the new year that the Stars were 20-16-4 –they picked up two wins to start the year as well. Dallas was in third place in the division and holding a playoff spot, yet now the team has bumped down a bit but looks defeated and at a loss more than ever.

Confidence is low, scoring is spotty, urgency only appears in periods here and there, and frustration is looming around the organization.

The Stars played three great periods against the Tampa Bay Lightning to bring hope into Thursday night’s matchup. Against the Kings, the Stars instead hit snooze until the third period, where life loomed but fell short.

Both teams came out in the first period and played a pretty even match. But much like against Tampa Bay, the only difference was on the scoreboard.

The King’s goal past Ben Bishop was similar to the goal against Anton Kudobin the other night. On the penalty kill, the Stars lost the faceoff draw in their own zone only to suffer from a long shot; with bodies in the way and the netminder on the short side, the puck found twine in the vacant space after seemingly being redirected. Drew Doughty was nonetheless still credited with the goal.

Dallas had a power-play opportunity come and go on them in the first as the power play continued its struggles.

The Kings contested well all game and for the most part, controlled the middle frame. With another goal from LA, the Stars found themselves trying to claw back from behind yet again. It was another goal immediately after the faceoff in the Stars’ zone, this time Dallas won the faceoff but with John Klingberg not able to get the puck out or to an outlet, the defender coughed possession up. Bishop thought he had the stop on the puck but it just slipped past him and into the crease, where LA tapped it home.

Down 0-2, dejection was abundant, but the third period came to be the most exciting for the Stars in the past couple of games. While the victory still seemed out of range –especially with the Stars holding a 1-12-0 record when trailing after two– Dallas found a way to make it interesting.

Dallas came out with some much-needed urgency and dominated the third period. The Stars put up 19 shots on goal compared to the Kings’ three. Unfortunately, the former Dallas Star Jack Campbell and his defense continued to contest every shot. That was until Esa Lindell redirected Alexander Radulov’s shot to end what would have been a second straight shutout.

The goal came just a little bit too late, though; with only a minute left, Dallas would muster up some shots but not have enough time to push the contest to the extra period. The Stars fell 1-2 amid similar frustrations to the past two losses but something to gain from both of them.

Both games were a great start at getting this offense back on track, getting chances going. Now, the Stars will need to capitalize on those chances and need to find the urgency to do so.