Monsters throttled by Stars

The Monsters on March 17 finally got the chance to play a home game for the first time in more than two weeks, but for 60 minutes looked as though their heads were in another time zone.

Needing every point they can get this late in the season, the Monsters played one of their worst games of the year while falling, 4-0, to the Texas Stars.

It was definitely a “let’s beat the traffic and leave early” game for the 10,215 fans at The Q.

“We’re in a playoff battle here, and we have too many passengers,” Coach John Madden said. “There’s

nobody driving the bus. We have too many guys watching, not helping out, not contributing.

“We’re a team that has trouble scoring goals. We wouldn’t go to the hard areas in front of the net and play the price to score a goal.”

The top four teams in each division based on winning percentage make the playoffs. The Monsters began the night sixth in the Central Division.

The Monsters play 10 of their final 15 games at The Q, which theoretically should help, but not if they don’t improve drastically over what they did against the Stars.

After a scoreless first period, Texas scored twice in the second and twice more in the third period. The Monsters showed bursts of energy in the first period, but they did not sustain effort.

“We came out flat in the second period,” Madden said. “They scored a couple quick ones, and we thought it was over.”

The Monsters were shut out by San Antonio three nights earlier. They have been blanked eight times in 61 games. Their 146 goals heading into the March 17 game were the second-fewest in the AHL. The Tucson Road Runners have 145 goals, but they’ve played six fewer games.

Part of the problem for the Monsters in recent games is Oliver Bjorkstrand is playing for the Blue Jackets, but Madden won’t use that as an excuse.

“We’re beyond (a desperate point),” Madden said. “We’ve expressed where we are in the standings, what needs to be done and how important every point is. We just have to find a way to win games, obviously, but it takes everybody. You can’t just have guys along for the ride.”

Monsters goalie Anton Forsberg stopped 27 of 31 shots.

The Monsters and Stars play again at 7 p.m. March 18. Madden said hasn’t decided who will play in goal in the rematch. Forsberg’s backup, Brad Thiessen is 2-6-1-1.