Game Four on Monday presented a turning point in the career of Pavel Dorofeyev.
Game Four on Monday presented a turning point in the career of Pavel Dorofeyev.
Despite leading the Vegas Golden Knights in goals during the regular season and scoring a goal earlier, head coach John Tortorella made the decision to bench the Russian forward during the third period. Then, a potential game-winning goal in overtime was turned away by an offsides challenge.
In that moment, the gauntlet was thrown towards Dorofeyev to make an impact as the series went into the deep waters. Wednesday night in Game Five was as emphatic an answer as Tortorella hoped to receive.
“Big credit to [Dorofeyev]. I've been, you know, I pushed him along here a little bit. As far as his play, he's handled himself really well and found a way to be a star tonight in a big game,” said Tortorella.
Securing the first playoff hat trick for the Golden Knights since Mark Stone accomplished the feat in the Cup-clinching Game Five against the Florida Panthers in 2023, Dorofeyev proved to be the catalyst for Vegas securing a pivotal 5-4 victory over the Utah Mammoth in double overtime.
Right from initial puck drop, the physicality in the series continued immediately. Massive hits from both sides set the tone early, with plenty of extracurricular activity after whistles and an ugly holding call on Logan Cooley looking more akin to a NFL horse collar tackle.
Ultimately, the Mammoth would break the ice after a shot went wide and bounced off the boards to the stick of defenseman John Marino. His shot beat Carter Hart’s readjustment to the short side, and the Golden Knights faced some early adversity.
However, the power play that was lambasted by John Tortorella before the morning skate would get some redemption in the final minute.
Making an adjustment, Tortorella placed Dorofeyev on the first power play unit after he was placed on the second for the first two power plays of the game. The decision paid off, as Dorofeyev located a puck that was chipped out of a battle by Tomas Hertl. With a clear lane, Vegas’ leading power play goal scorer got a clean shot off that squeaked past Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka to tie the game at one.
“It seems like he's been playing pretty well these last few nights, and great to see him get rewarded. He's a huge part of our group,” said Eichel about Dorofeyev, as the two were on the power play unit that put Vegas on the board.
The second period would keep things close, but Lawson Crouse continued to be a nemesis on the series with a clean shot from the slot that beat Hart up high to give Utah the lead back.
Eventually, the Golden Knights would find a way to turn things around on the Mammoth. It started with Shea Theodore beating Kevin Stenlund in a battle on the blue line, then following up with a beautiful drop pass to find Dorofeyev. He would roof one over Vejmelka to keep the game deadlocked again.
“[Theodore] was fantastic again tonight, you know, so super happy for him. You can go up and down the lineup in terms of guys’ performance, it's a gutsy, gutsy win for us,” said Eichel about the defenseman and the overall play of the group.
A minute and a half later, the Golden Knights would take advantage of another mistake, with some hesitation by Vejmelka leading to him coughing up the puck. Stone would find Theodore, who moved towards the middle of the ice before beating the Mammoth goaltender clean for Vegas’ first lead of the game.
“I think we need to get some things going from our back end, and Shea’s beginning to find his way there,” Tortorella continued about Theodore.
“He’s just looking to try to get shots. It’s so hard to get shots through, just looking to try to get some shots through in the paint…that blue paint is an important area, as far as us taking care of it and trying to exploit them. Shea’s done a pretty good job getting us out of our end zone and also finding some lanes to put it through.”
Hart would get a chance to don the hero cape shortly after with a save on a Nick Schmaltz breakaway, then getting underneath a Brandon Tanev look to preserve the lead for the home team.
“I think Carter has the ability to put things away and move by, whether it be good or bad, get ready to play the next day of work, practice the next day,” said Tortorella about his starting goaltender.
“I've just watched him grow. It's such a unique position. You're kind of on an island out there in a team sport. It's the most important position in the game. I just think he has a good mental toughness about him to when he's playing really well.”
A four-minute penalty kill would put the Golden Knights to a good start in the third period, but Dylan Guenther would continue his excellent playoff debut with his third goal in four games off a one-timer from Kailer Yamamoto.
Michael Carcone would finish another odd-man rush to put the Mammoth back on top, and the Golden Knights needed another miracle to avoid a potential elimination game on Friday.
With 52 seconds remaining, Eichel would find a way to win a puck battle and shovel it out in front of Vejmelka’s crease. Dorofeyev would catch the Mammoth goaltender out of position to tie the game again and complete the first playoff hat trick of his career.
“Good things happen when you go to the blue paint,” said Dorofeyev about his series-saving goal.
“It's a big part of playoff hockey, protecting your blue and getting to the other blue. So you got to continue to get there,” Tortorella added to Dorofeyev’s point.
Overtime would not solve anything for either side, but the penalty killing unit that had done such a phenomenal job for Vegas all night would be the ones to close the show on Utah. After Eichel stole a puck that kept the Mammoth hemmed in their own zone, Brett Howden would make another heady defensive play and fire the decisive blow past Vejmelka.
“Just kind of blacked out,” Howden said about the play and his celebration after.
“Mitch [Marner] had a close chance right after the faceoff, kind of just rolled off a stick and then went to the corner and just stayed resilient. I mean, Mitch did a really good job, kind of like the other night on PK, good job of getting a stick in there interrupting the play. Just kind of popped out. I just tried to get a shot and just kind of blacked out.”
With the 3-2 series lead now theirs, all attention shifts to Game Six on Friday in Salt Lake City, where the Golden Knights have the opportunity to punch their ticket into the second round.
Category: General Sports
