Roope Hintz scores twice, giving him team-high 18 goals, as Stars beat Senators 4-2

DALLAS (AP) — Roope Hintz scored two goals for the second time in the last eight games giving him a team-high 18 goals as the Dallas Stars beat the Ottawa Senators 4-2 on Thursday night.

Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene also scored, and Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston had two assists each for the Stars, who have points in five consecutive games for the first time this season. Jake Oettinger made 11 saves.

Benn and Hintz scored 1:08 apart midway through the second period putting Dallas ahead 3-2.

Brady Tkachuk and Ridly Greig scored 24 seconds apart for a 2-1 Senators lead midway through the first period. Leevi Merilainen stopped 21 shots.

Ottawa is 4-3-0 with two games left in a franchise-long nine road games on both sides of the NHL Christmas break.

Robertson has 15 points in the last 11 games.

Johnston has a five-game points streak.

Tkachuk’s goal, his team-best 17th, ended a season-long four-game goal drought. He also had an assist.

Greig has scored in three consecutive games after scoring once in the previous 22 games.

Senators: Merilainen made his fourth start since being called up from the AHL as Ottawa has dealt with injuries to multiple goaltenders. Defenseman Artem Zub, who missed 16 games with a broken foot, returned to the lineup.

Stars: Ottawa's 13 shots are the fewest by a Stars opponent since the Phoenix Coyotes were held to 13 in a 1-0 Dallas win on Nov. 9, 2006.

Dallas’ penalty kill didn’t allow a shot on goal during a 6-on-4 Senators power play in the closing minutes.

The Stars have the NHL’s best home penalty kill at 92.1%, killing all four vs. Ottawa.

The Senators will complete a back-to-back at St. Louis on Friday night. The Stars will end a three-game homestand on Saturday night against Utah.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) blocks a shot as Ottawa Senators center Ridly Greig attacks during the second period of an NHL hokey game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The crowd reacts after Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz (24) scored a second period goal during an NHL hokey game against the Ottawa Senators, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) attacks against Ottawa Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen, center, and defenseman Thomas Chabot (72) during the first period of an NHL hokey game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars right win Arttu Hyry skates during his NHL hockey debut in the first period of a game against the Ottawa Senators, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson collects an assist on a shot that lead to teammate's center Roope Hintz goal against the Ottawa Senators during the first period of an NHL hokey game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Ottawa Senators center Ridly Greig, center left, is congratulated by left wing Brady Tkachuk, center right, after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the first period of an NHL hokey game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates his first period goal with Shane Pinto during an NHL hokey game against the Dallas Stars, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars right win Arttu Hyry skates during his NHL hockey debut in the first period of a game against the Ottawa Senators, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars players celebrate a goal by center Roope Hintz, second from left, during the first period of an NHL hokey game against the Ottawa Senators, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz (24) celebrates his second period goal with defenseman Esa Lindell (23) during an NHL hokey game against the Ottawa Senators, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

PARIS (AP) — France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial Monday over alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by the government of then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The Libyan case, the biggest and possibly most shocking of several scandals involving Sarkozy, is scheduled to run until April 10, with a verdict expected at a later date.

Sarkozy, 69, faces charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of embezzlement of public funds and criminal association, punished by up to 10 years in prison. Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, has denied any wrongdoing.

The trial involves 11 other defendants, including three former ministers. Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, accused of having played the role of intermediary, has fled in Lebanon and is not expected to appear at the Paris court.

Sarkozy is looking forward to the hearings “with determination,” his lawyer Christophe Ingrain said in a statement.

“There is no Libyan financing of the campaign,” the statement said. “We want to believe the court will have the courage to examine the facts objectively, without being guided by the nebulous theory that poisoned the investigation.”

The case emerged in March 2011, when a Libyan news agency reported that the Gadhafi government had financed Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign. In an interview, Gadhafi himself said “it’s thanks to us that he reached the presidency. We provided him with the funds that allowed him to win,” without providing any amount or other details.

Sarkozy, who had welcomed Gadhafi to Paris with great honors in 2007, became one of the first Western leaders to push for a military intervention in Libya in March 2011, when Arab Spring pro-democracy protests swept the Arab world. Gadhafi was killed by opposition fighters in October that same year, ending his four-decade rule of the North African country.

The next year, French online news site Mediapart published a document said to be a note from the Libyan secret services, mentioning Gadhafi’s agreement to provide Sarkozy’s campaign 50 million euros in financing.

Sarkozy strongly rejected the accusations, calling the document a “blatant fake” and filing complaints for forgery, concealment and spreading false news.

However, French investigative magistrates eventually said in 2016 the document has all the characteristics of an authentic one, although there is no definitive evidence that such a transaction took place.

The official cost for Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign was 20 million euros.

French investigators scrutinized numerous trips to Libya made by people close to Sarkozy, then the interior minister, between 2005 and 2007, including his chief of staff Claude Guéant. They also noted dozens of meetings between Guéant and Takieddine, a key player in major French military contracts abroad.

The investigation gained traction when Takieddine told news site Mediapart in 2016 that he had delivered three suitcases from Libya containing millions in cash to the French Interior Ministry.

However, Takieddinne reversed his statement four years later.

Since then, a separate investigation has been launched into alleged witness tampering as magistrates suspect an attempt to pressure Takieddine in order to clear Sarkozy. Sarkozy and his wife, former supermodel Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, were given preliminary charges as financial prosecutors said the former president is suspected of “benefitting from corruptly influencing” Takieddine.

The other accused are three former French ministers, including Guéant, and a former adviser close to Sarkozy.

Like Takieddine, Franco-Algerian businessman Alexandre Djouhri is accused of having been an intermediary.

The case also involves Gadhafi’s former chief of staff and treasurer Bashir Saleh, who sought refuge in France during the Libyan civil war then moved to South Africa, where he survived a shooting in 2018, before settling in the United Arab Emirates.

Other defendants include two Saudi billionaires, a former Airbus executive and a former banker accused of having played a role in the alleged money transfers.

Shukri Ghanem, Gadhafi’s former oil minister who was also suspected, was found dead in the Danube River in Vienna in 2012 in unclear circumstances. French investigators were able to find Ghanem’s notebook, which is believed to document payments made by Libya.

Gadhafi's spy chief and brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senoussi told investigative judges millions have indeed been provided to support Sarkozy’s campaign. Accused of war crimes, he is now imprisoned in Libya.

Sarkozy has been convicted in two other scandals — yet the Libyan case appears as the one most likely to significantly affect his legacy.

France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, last month upheld a conviction against Sarkozy of corruption and influence peddling while he was the head of state. He was sentenced to one year in house arrest with an electronic bracelet. The case was revealed as investigative judges were listening to wiretapped phone conversations during the Libya inquiry.

In February last year, an appeals court in Paris found Sarkozy guilty of illegal campaign financing in his failed 2012 reelection bid.

FILE - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, greets Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace, Dec. 10 2007 in Paris. France's former President Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial Monday Jan.6, 2025 over alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by the government of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)