Radek Faksa scores in return, Stars oust defending Stanley Cup champ Golden Knights 2-1 in Game 7

DALLAS (AP) — Radek Faksa made a promise to his 2 1/2-year-old son when they were playing together before the Dallas Stars took the ice for Game 7.

Faksa did indeed score in his return to the lineup after missing four games because of an undisclosed injury. His go-ahead goal came on a backhander 44 seconds into the third period, after his son had been taken home, and Dallas beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 on Sunday night to wrap up the first-round series.

“I’m happy I did," Faksa said. “And so I can show him the video in the morning, and we can watch it together.”

Only captain Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have played longer for the Stars than Faksa, a fourth-liner in his ninth season who got his goal from the circle to the left of goalie Adin Hill. Dallas also got another Game 7 goal from 20-year-old Wyatt Johnston.

Jake Oettinger had 21 saves in his second Game 7 victory. He also had the Stars' only penalty, though they killed that off after he was called for tripping Ivan Barbashev in front of the net midway through the third.

“The last period was a clinic. Just so proud of the guys of how we responded,” Oettinger said. "It’s a long playoffs and you’re going to need different guys to step up at different times. A lot of hockey left so hopefully a lot more heroes. It’s going to be a run ride.”

The Stars, the No. 1 seed in the West, move on to play well-rested Colorado in the second round. Game 1 is in Dallas on Tuesday night, a week after the Avalanche wrapped up their series against Winnipeg with a Game 5 victory.

Brett Howden scored for Vegas, which couldn’t pull off another series winner in Dallas, where last year the Knights wrapped up the Western Conference Final with a win in Game 6. Hill had 22 saves in his third game of this series after Logan Thompson started the first four.

The visitor won the first four games in this series until the home teams held serve the last three games.

“There’s probably a lot of doubters out there. After Game 2, they probably thought we couldn’t come back,” Benn said. “A lot of believers in this room, in this organization. And we showed ’em.”

Dallas has won Game 7s in each of its first two postseasons for coach Pete DeBoer, who is now 8-0 in his career in such games with four different teams. That includes the Knights’ only Game 7 wins in 2020 and 2021 when he was their coach.

Johnston scored his series-high fourth goal on a wrister from the top of the slot with 5:26 left in the first period after picking off a clearing pass by Shea Theodore that his teammate, Tomas Hertl, missed when taking a twisting swipe at it.

A day after his 20th birthday last May, Johnston became the youngest player in NHL history with a game-clinching goal in a Game 7. He gathered a puck that ricocheted off the back boards in the third period of the Stars' 2-1 win over Seattle in that second-round series.

The goal Sunday against came in quick succession after Vegas had two scoring chances. Oettinger made a tough save to deny Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault then shot the rebound off the left post, and got a hit on Johnston before the Dallas youngster skated to the other end and scored about 10 seconds later.

“I think a couple of our players will probably not sleep tonight, because if you look at what transpired in the game,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We hit a post, take them down, they score 10 seconds later. We miss an open net at the end of the second, and they score on the first shift of the third. ... It’s a little bit of hockey sometimes when two close teams play.”

The series ended with both teams scoring 16 goals.

Vegas, which returned 22 of its 27 players from the Stanley Cup-winning roster, tied it in the second period when Michael Amadio made a crossing pass to Howden, who poked the puck into the open left side of the net behind Oettinger.

The only coach other than DeBoer to win eight Game 7s is Darryl Sutter, who was 8-3 in such games over 182 playoff games over 15 postseasons with four teams.

The Knights are 2-2 in Game 7s. DeBoer was also the opposing coach in their other loss, to San Jose in 2019.

It was only the second time of 16 that the Stars won a best-of-seven series after losing the first two games. The only other was the very first playoff series in franchise history, when the Minnesota North Stars were down 0-2 before beating the Los Angeles Kings in seven games to open the 1968 playoffs.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Spectators react during the third period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series between the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Dallas Stars' Jamie Benn (14) controls the puck as he and teammate Joe Pavelski (16) attack against Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) and goaltender Adin Hill during the second period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson works out prior to Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill deflects a shot during the first period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Dallas Stars center Radek Faksa (12) competes for the puck against Vegas Golden Knights center Nicolas Roy (10) and defenseman Alec Martinez (23) during the third period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) and center William Karlsson (71) try to control the puck against the Dallas Stars during the second period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, right, blocks a shot as teammate Roope Hintz (24) defends against Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) during the first period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21) celebrates his second period goal with Michael Amadio (22) in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Dallas Stars center Logan Stankoven (11) skates against Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez (23) during the first period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill, top, leaves his crease to make a save on a breakaway by Dallas Stars center Sam Steel (18) during the third period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) skates by as Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) celebrates his first period goal in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Dallas Stars players acknowledge spectators following their 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Streamers drop after the Dallas Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill eyes the puck on a scoring shot by Dallas Stars center Radek Faksa during the third period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston, center, celebrates his first period goal with Joe Pavelski (16) and Miro Heiskanen (4) during Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Arizona's attorney general says former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been served an indictment in the state's fake elector case alongside 17 other defendants for his role in an attempt to overturn former President Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes posted the news regarding the Trump-aligned lawyer on her X account late Friday.

“The final defendant was served moments ago. @RudyGiuliani nobody is above the law,” Mayes wrote.

The attorney general’s spokesman Richie Taylor said in an email to The Associated Press on Saturday that Giuliani faces the same charges as the other defendants, including conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges.

Giuliani’s political adviser, Ted Goodman, confirmed Giuliani was served Friday night after his 80th birthday celebration as he was walking to the car.

“We look forward to full vindication soon,” Goodman said in a statement Saturday.

The indictment alleges that Giuliani “pressured” Arizona legislators and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to change the outcome of Arizona’s election and that he was responsible for encouraging Republican electors in Arizona and six other contested states to vote for Trump.

Taylor said an unredacted copy of the indictment will be released Monday. He said Giuliani is expected to appear in court Tuesday unless he is granted a delay by the court.

Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, is among others who have been indicted in the case.

Neither Meadows nor Giuliani were named in the redacted grand jury indictment released earlier because they had not been served with it, but they were readily identifiable based on descriptions in the document. The Arizona attorney general’s office said Wednesday that Meadows had been served and confirmed that he was charged with the same counts as the other named defendants, including conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges.

With the indictments, Arizona becomes the fourth state where allies of the former president have been charged with using false or unproven claims about voter fraud related to the election.

Giuliani faces other legal proceedings, and a bankruptcy judge this past week said he was “disturbed” about the status of the case and for missed deadlines to file financial disclosure reports. Giuliani filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $148 million to two former election workers for spreading a false conspiracy theory about their role in the 2020 election.

Giuliani was also indicted last year by a grand jury in Georgia, where he is accused of spearheading Trump’s efforts to compel state lawmakers in Georgia to ignore the will of voters and illegally appoint pro-Trump electoral college electors.

Among the defendants are 11 Arizona Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Trump won in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election — including a former state GOP chair, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate and two sitting state lawmakers. The other defendants are Mike Roman, who was Trump’s director of Election Day operations, and four attorneys accused of organizing an attempt to use fake documents to persuade Congress not to certify Biden’s victory: John Eastman, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn and Jenna Ellis.

Trump himself was not charged but was referred to as an unindicted co-conspirator.

The 11 people who had been nominated to be Arizona’s Republican electors met in Phoenix on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate saying they were “duly elected and qualified” electors and claiming that Trump carried the state. A one-minute video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.

Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes.

Eastman, who devised a strategy to try to persuade Congress not to certify the election, became the first person charged in Arizona’s fake elector case to be arraigned on Friday. He pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges.

Eastman made a brief statement outside the courthouse, saying the charges against him should have never been filed.

“I had zero communications with the electors in Arizona (and) zero involvement in any of the election litigation in Arizona or legislative hearings. And I am confident that with the laws faithfully applied, I will be fully be exonerated at the end of this process,” Eastman said. He declined to make further comment.

Arraignments are scheduled May 21 for 12 other people charged in the case, including nine of the 11 Republicans who had submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring Trump had won Arizona.

The Arizona indictment said Eastman encouraged the GOP electors to cast their votes in December 2020, unsuccessfully pressured state lawmakers to change the election’s outcome in Arizona and told then-Vice President Mike Pence that he could reject Democratic electors in the counting of electoral votes in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

Associated Press writers Jacques Billeaud and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix and Nomaan Merchant in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Washington, Dec. 15, 2023. Arizona attorney general Kris Mayes says Giuliani has been served an indictment in the state’s fake elector case alongside 17 other defendants for his role in an attempt to overturn former President Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Mayes posted the news regarding the Trump-aligned lawyer on her X account late Friday, May 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)