For a second straight game, the Canadiens were dominated at home by a heavier, Western Conference opponent.

After losing 5-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, the Habs followed it up with an even more lopsided 7-0 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars. They’re now 10-5-2.

Martin St. Louis coached his 300th game.

Both netminders added fuel to the fire of the continuing goalie controversy. Jakub Dobes started and gave up five goals on 13 shots before being replaced in the third period by Samuel Montembeault, who didn’t fare much better by allowing two on six shots. Casey DeSmith got the 24-save shutout for Dallas.

Montreal lost Alex Newhook to injury in the second period after hitting the end boards feet first from a trip by Ilya Lyubushkin. He put no weight on his right leg as he was helped off the ice. To spare you from scrolling through seven Dallas goals, here’s the play in question.

Now for the goals. The Habs actually outshot the Stars 14-5 in the first period, but found themselves down 1-0 after the red hot Dallas power play connected.

The Canadiens allowed four goals in the second period, starting with Esa Lindell beating Dobes from the high slot. Kirby Dach laid in the corner after blocking a shot, but stayed in the game.

Things unravelled for the Habs after the Newhook injury. Tyler Seguin took advantage of a slow line change and scored on a breakaway. 3-0 Stars.

Then, Jason Robertson scored twice in a span of 1:39 to give Dallas a commanding 5-0 advantage.

That was the end of Dobes’ night. Montembeault entered the game to start the third period and allowed a goal to Alex Petrovic on the first shot he faced. 6-0 Stars.

The few remaining fans who didn’t hit the exits early wanted to see Arber Xhekaj get revenge on Lyubushkin for the Newhook injury, and while Xhekaj dropped the gloves, the Dallas defenceman didn’t reciprocate. They still got five minute majors apiece, even if the Habs and their fans failed to get satisfaction.

The Stars got the extra point on their touchdown with 5:20 remaining in the third after the puck took a strange bounce from behind the net to a waiting Colin Blackwell in front.

For the first time this season, the high-scoring Canadiens were shut out. They’ve now lost four of their last five and got thumped by the Kings and Stars by a combined score of 12-1 this week at home. What do those two clubs have in common? They’re a little older, and a little heavier. They reminded the Liveblog commenters of the Washington Capitals this past spring, who manhandled the young Habs in a five-game first round victory.

The Gazette’s Herb Zurkowsky said it best on X:

Do you think Lane Hutson is missing usual defensive partner Kaiden Guhle, who’s still out with a lower-body injury? The reigning Calder Trophy winner is a combined minus-7 the last two games. On the plus side, Juraj Slafkovsky rebounded from his poor showing Tuesday, where he got replaced on the top line by Ivan Demidov, but he and his linemates were the only ones to avoid the red from Hockey Stat Cards.

Here’s what the Liveblog commenters who joined the conversation on the livestream had to say. As much as the goalies were a hot topic all night, the truth is one goal in two games against playoff-calibre opponents isn’t going to cut it. The Habs are 1-5 against teams that made the postseason a year ago.

3. “It takes a real team effort to get blown out 7-0 on home ice.” — Ryan Katz 2. “Wow, this was a real “bounce forward” game. As MSL says it.” — Max Gray 1. “Not a good night. That’s 2 in a row. Perhaps if the Habs could score the goalie issue would not be an issue. This team isn’t scoring.” — Rick Woods