The Dallas Stars earned a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 7 on Sunday to eliminate the defending Stanley Cup champions and set up a second-round meeting with the Colorado Avalanche.
Radek Faksa scored the game-winner 44 seconds into the third period.
“This is the biggest goal of my career so far,” Faksa told the TNT crew postgame.
Faksa also revealed that he told his son he’d find the scoresheet before the game.
“I promised him I would score a goal tonight,” Faksa said. “I’m glad I did. I’m so excited to show him the video of the goal in the morning.”
Wyatt Johnston opened the scoring in the first period, but Brett Howden answered for Vegas late in the middle frame. Sunday’s contest was the fourth one-goal game of the series and the third that went Dallas’ way.
“I’m so proud of the guys for how we responded going down 0-2,” goaltender Jake Oettinger said after the contest. “Hell of a win.”
The stats favored the Stars throughout the series, as the Central Division winners owned 58.6% of expected goals and 58.01% of scoring chances at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Head coach Pete DeBoer is now 8-0 in Game 7s for his career and 2-0 with Dallas.
Sunday’s loss marks only the third time in seven years of existence that the Golden Knights failed to win a playoff series. The club loaded up for a run at repeating before the trade deadline, acquiring Noah Hanifin, Tomas Hertl, and Anthony Mantha. Vegas opened the series with a pair of wins but then lost three straight before a Game 6 victory forced a winner-take-all in Dallas.
The Stars were 1-2-1 against the Avalanche this season, getting outscored 20-15 in the four games. Their series is scheduled to begin Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET in Dallas.
