Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice, including the winner 4:10 into overtime, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference second-round series.
Dorofeyev’s overtime goal was his first career playoff overtime winner. Tomas Hertl added a goal and an assist, Jack Eichel had two assists and Carter Hart made 34 saves for Vegas. The Golden Knights can advance to the Western Conference finals with a win in Game 6 on Thursday in Anaheim.
Beckett Sennecke kept Anaheim alive for much of the night, extending his goal streak to four games with the opening goal at the 12:36 mark of the first period. The Ducks took that 1-0 lead on a power play after Brayden McNabb was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for interference, but Vegas answered before the period ended when Dorofeyev scored on the power play after Lukas Dostal poke-checked the puck away from Mitch Marner on a breakaway near the end of the period.
The pace swung again early in the third when Hertl put Vegas ahead 2-1, only for Anaheim to force overtime with 3:05 remaining in regulation on Olen Zellweger’s first career playoff goal. Zellweger’s finish, set up by Cutter Gauthier and Mason McTavish, extended a game that had already turned on special teams and discipline. Ryan Poehling also had to be helped off the ice with an upper-body injury after a hard late check along the boards.
After Dorofeyev sealed the result, the Golden Knights were left one win away from their fourth trip to the Western Conference finals in the club’s nine-year history. Anaheim got 29 saves from Dostal and two assists each from Gauthier and McTavish, but the Ducks could not protect an early lead or hold off Vegas when the game opened up late. Sennecke’s five playoff goals tied the Ducks’ rookie postseason record set by Bobby Ryan in 2009.
