The Golden Knights double overtime victory on Wednesday night was as dramatic as playoff hockey gets. Brett Howden scored a short-handed goal at 5:28 of the second overtime period to give Vegas a 5-4 win over the Utah Mammoth in Game 5 of their first-round series. The win puts the Golden Knights up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 goes Friday night in Salt Lake City. Vegas now needs just one more win to advance, while Utah faces elimination for the first time in the young franchise’s playoff history.
How Pavel Dorofeyev’s hat trick forced the Golden Knights double overtime
The game appeared destined for a Utah victory when the Mammoth tied it at 4-4 with 7:18 left in regulation. Then Dorofeyev changed everything. He scored his third goal of the night on a six-on-five play with just 52.7 seconds remaining, pulling Vegas level and sending the game to overtime. It was the sixth playoff hat trick in Golden Knights franchise history. Moreover, it was stunning given Dorofeyev had managed just 2 goals in 13 career playoff games before Wednesday night. His first came on a power play in the first period, ending a drought of 13 consecutive Vegas power plays without a goal. His third, with the net empty and the clock running out, was the kind of moment that defines postseason hockey.
Shea Theodore added a goal and an assist. Jack Eichel contributed 2 assists. Carter Hart stopped 33 shots to keep Vegas in the game through 4 goals and a brutal physical night.
Utah rallied twice but could not hold the Golden Knights off
The Mammoth refused to go away quietly. Utah trailed 3-1 entering the third period. However, Dylan Guenther tied it at 3-3 just 5:54 into the third on a rush play. Then Michael Carcone scored on a two-on-one with 7:18 left to put Utah ahead 4-3. The building in Las Vegas went quiet. Additionally, John Marino, Lawson Crouse, and Guenther all scored for the Mammoth. Clayton Keller added 2 assists and Karel Vejmelka made 31 saves in a performance that nearly held up.
Furthermore, the Mammoth were physical all night. Both teams combined for 86 hits. Neither side was willing to cede an inch. That physicality, however, sometimes led to unnecessary penalties, and Vegas made Utah pay on the power play at a critical moment in the first period when Dorofeyev scored to make it 1-1.
Power play struggles continue for both teams but Vegas found another way
Neither team has solved its power play issues in this series. Together, both sides went 1 for 10 on Wednesday. Vegas is now 3 for 18 for the entire series. Utah is even worse at 1 for 14. As a result, both teams have leaned on even-strength and special teams play to generate offense. Vegas actually has 2 short-handed goals in the series now, both from Howden. The second was the series winner on Wednesday scored from the slot after Vegas won a key faceoff deep in Utah’s zone and converted with clinical efficiency.
Cole Smith picked up a double-minor high-sticking penalty just 11 seconds into the third period. Nevertheless, Vegas killed off all four minutes and held its ground through what had become a two-goal swing game. That kind of penalty killing, combined with Dorofeyev’s late heroics, captured why the Golden Knights are such a difficult team to eliminate. They are built for exactly this kind of moment.
What comes next in the series
Vegas heads to Salt Lake City for Game 6 on Friday with a chance to close out the series on the road. History strongly favors the team that wins Game 5 in a tied series. Teams that take a 3-2 lead go on to win the series at a rate of nearly 80 percent. That said, Utah has already proven once this series that they can climb out of a deep hole. The Mammoth rallied from 3-0 down in Game 4 before losing in overtime. They will not go quietly.
Source: Associated Press
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