The nightmare continues with the 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets

The Dallas Stars welcomed the Columbus Blue Jackets to town to begin a three-game homestand tonight. The Stars had a rough two games heading into tonight's tilt against the Blue Jackets. They gave up four unanswered goals last Thursday night. They also allowed Jordan Binnington to haunt them this past weekend on Saturday night. Things didn't get better for the Stars as they lost their third-straight game tonight, losing 5-1 to the Blue Jackets. Things are starting to get worse for the Stars as the season moves along.

The entire team is just out of sync right now, and you can somewhat blame it on the injuries the Stars have right now. However, most of it needs to be directed at how the players are playing in front of Jake Oettinger right now. Look at how Boone Jenner went undetected and scored backdoor; those kinds of mistakes are unacceptable. The Stars need to find themselves quickly before they get buried in the Central Division. Here are the four takeaways from the Stars' loss to the Blue Jackets tonight.

Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Recap: 4. Where is our rugby-style play?

One thing I saw from the fourth line that wasn't evident in the others was our rugby-style aggressiveness in front of the net. The fourth line had three guys around Elvis Merzlikins tonight. The other lines had only a couple of players in front of the net. The only way the Stars can pressure teams this season is by being in front of the net to jam it past the goaltender. The Blue Jackets didn't have to worry about that tonight. Now the Stars are on a three-game losing streak.

Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Recap: 3. Time to switch to Monster Energy

The Dallas Stars should switch to Monster Energy before games, as their coffee doesn't seem to be working. They were allowing the Blue Jackets to fly past them on the ice in the first period. The Stars can't count on winning every home game this season. They've already lost one against the Vancouver Canucksgame they should have won. The Stars need to find a way to generate momentum after the opening puck drop. A team like the Florida Panthers would have been up 3-0 tonight if not for the lack of energy from the Stars, except for Oettinger.

Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Recap: 2. Nothing the Stars could do about Jenner's goal

There were some questions about whether Boone Jenner kicked the puck into the net. However, the Stars couldn't challenge the goal since it's not a reviewable play. New York would have to call in and review it that way. It was a beautiful backdoor feed to Jenner, and it did look like a kicking motion, somewhat, but his skate didn't leave the ice until after the puck got redirected. It probably would have stood as a goal if New York had reviewed it. Gulutzan was smart to let it go and get to the first intermission.

Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Recap: 1. Jake Oettinger had a solid first period

Even though he gave up two goals in the first period, Oettinger was amazing tonight, keeping the score low. Yes, the Blue Jackets were the best team in the first period by a mile. It could have been 5-0 Blue Jackets by the end of the first period if Casey DeSmith were the goaltender tonight. Oettinger did his best with the subpar defense helping him out against Columbus. The Stars return to the American Airlines Center on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings.