Pavel Dorofeyev went from riding the pine in Game 4 to playing the biggest game of his life.
It’s because of him that the Vegas Golden Knights had life heading into overtime, and why they’re now a win away from moving on to the second round.
Dorofeyev recorded the first playoff hat trick of his career, and Brett Howden scored a shorthanded game-winner in double overtime, and the Knights completed another third-period comeback to defeat the Utah Mammoth 5-4 in Game 5 of their first-round series at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.
Dorofeyev, the Knights’ leading goal scorer during the regular season, was benched in the final 13 minutes of regulation in Game 4 in Salt Lake City.
He responded with three goals, including the game-tying goal with 52.7 seconds left in regulation.
But it was Howden playing the hero, scoring on the penalty kill at 5:28 of the second overtime for his third goal in two games.
The Knights lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 and can close it out Friday in Game 6 at Delta Center.
Shea Theodore added a goal and an assist, and Carter Hart finished with 34 saves.
It was the first Knights game to reach double overtime since Game 3 of the first round against the Winnipeg Jets in 2023, and the first at home since Game 6 of the 2019 first round against the San Jose Sharks.
Coming into Wednesday, the view of Game 5 could’ve been looked at in two different ways.
1) The Knights could hang their hat on the fact they built a three-goal lead, lost it, had to rally to force overtime and eventually win it.
2) Utah could be proud of the fact it rallied, took the lead in the third period but eventually ran out of gas.
Natural reaction would dictate momentum would play a factor at some point. Playoff hockey, with all its unpredictability, said no to that.
Game 5 didn’t have that momentum sway one way or the other. It did provide narratives, though.
Like Dorofeyev, who was benched for the majority of the third period in Game 4, responding with his first playoff multigoal game. His power-play tally with 41 seconds left in the first tied it 1-1, coming 2:08 after Utah defenseman John Marino opened the scoring.
His second came with 4:23 left after receiving a drop pass behind the Utah cage from Theodore and picking the far corner, tying it 2-2.
Theodore followed Dorofeyev 1 minute, 40 seconds later after Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka turned it over behind the net, and Theodore’s shot from the high slot beat a screened Vejmelka.
Utah’s speed, which was neutralized for the most part in Game 4, took over in an emphatic way in the third period. Dylan Guenther and Michael Carcone each scored on 2-on-1 opportunities in the third to give the Mammoth a 4-3 lead.
But the Knights, once again relying on experience, found a way again and are a win away from moving on to the second round.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
