RALEIGH, N.C. — Have the floodgates opened for Pavel Dorofeyev?
“I hope so,” coach John Tortorella said. “I hope so.”
The Vegas Golden Knights’ leading goal scorer during the regular season found the back of the net for the first time in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final by scoring both of his team’s goals in the 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Dorofeyev’s goals gave him 12 in what’s been an eventful postseason for the 25-year-old winger.
He ended a seven-game goal drought Thursday. It was also his first points since registering two assists in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against Colorado.
“He’s been a little quiet,” Tortorella said. “Knowing him, he gets streaky, right? It’d be a good time for him to keep moving in that direction as far as scoring goals.”
Dorofeyev was moved to the third line with Tomas Hertl and Colton Sissons — in part to get captain Mark Stone back on the top line with Jack Eichel, but also to get Dorofeyev away from the tougher defensive matchup.
Carolina captain Jordan Staal and his line have drawn the primary defensive responsibility on Eichel. The series started with Ivan Barbashev and Dorofeyev on Eichel’s wings.
Tortorella put Dorofeyev back with Eichel in the third period when the Knights were scrounging for offense. That led to his second goal that cut the score to 4-2.
“I thought he gave us some good minutes,” Tortorella said. “Popped him on that line with Jack, seemed to work.”
It might not be a coincidence that Eichel also had his best game of the Cup Final while trying to get the puck to Dorofeyev.
Eichel had two assists Thursday, matching his entire output from the first four games.
“It was good to see him score,” Eichel said. “I mean, he’s been scoring goals for us all year, all playoffs, and hopefully we can continue. Hopefully he can continue that.”
There’s a chance Dorofeyev may see those top-line minutes going into the crucial Game 6 at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, when the Knights need a win to force Game 7 back at Lenovo Center on Wednesday.
Center William Karlsson is likely out for the rest of the series with an arm injury. Tortorella will needs to figure out whether the best approach is to load up the top six, or find some sort of balance.
Where Dorofeyev and Stone line up will answer those questions.
“We got to figure out the health of our team and figure out what the lines are eventually here in the next couple of days,” Tortorella said, “but hopefully he keeps pushing the area.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
