In their first game since reshuffling the front office, the Stars showed these changes might take awhile.

They made a nice comeback to tie the game, but failed to score on a power play in overtime. Then they lost in a shootout, drawing a unified moan from the crowd of 17,606 at American Airlines Center.

The 4-3 outcome wasn't what the Stars had in mind following the firing of general manager Doug Armstrong.

Instead, the Stars made some of the same mistakes that contributed to Armstrong's departure. The events of the previous two days might have worked against them instead of creating a spark.

"When changes happen like they did, you wonder how people are going to respond," coach Dave Tippett said. "But our goal was to push forward and worry about the things on the ice."

There was some of that for sure.

Turnovers in their end left the Stars trailing, 3-1, after the first period. They fought hard to tie the game in the third on goals by captain Brenden Morrow and Niklas Hagman.

In overtime, it seemed the Stars would write a feel-good story.

San Jose's Douglas Murray was called for interference trying to block Mike Modano from getting a pass in the crease.

But the Stars couldn't convert despite playing the final 1:12 with the man advantage. They had some good chances, but Evgeni Nabokov made some good saves. The overtime ended with Modano hitting the side of the net with a long wrist shot from a bad angle.

In the shootout, Devin Setoguchi beat Stars goalie Marty Turco with a blistering wrister. Dallas' Jussi Jokinen couldn't get a good shot on Nabokov. Then Patrick Marleau got Turco with a wrist shot similar to Setoguchi's, except he came in from the other side.

Turnovers resulted in two San Jose goals. Setoguchi broke a 1-1 tie after Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov misplayed the puck at the Dallas blue line. Joe Thornton grabbed the loose puck and fed Setoguchi in the crease.

Fifty-nine seconds later, with time running out in the period, Marleau found himself with the puck after the Stars failed to clear. After he beat Turco, the Stars left the ice to boos.

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

San Jose's Patrick Marleau puts a shot past Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco to end the game.

"There has been a lot going on over the past few days, but that's no excuse for the start," Stars defenseman Philippe Boucher said. "We had some chances to win this game but just didn't get the job done."

The Stars' inconsistency has been a recurring theme. Tippett, though, was impressed by his team's comeback.

"Just like every game, we take some positives and we take some things we have to work on," Tippett said. "You have to like the will we played with and the intensity in the third. We had some good chances to win this one."

Injury update: Winger Brad Winchester, who signed as a free agent in the summer, missed Wednesday's game because of an abdominal strain. He has been on injured reserve since Nov. 2. Defenseman Mattias Nortstrom also sat because of lacerations around his eye.