Pavel Dorofeyev scored at 4:10 of overtime Tuesday night and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2, moving within one victory of the Western Conference finals. Dorofeyev also had a power-play goal earlier in the game, giving Vegas a chance to close out the second-round series Thursday night in Anaheim.
The winner came after a game that swung hard in both directions and left the Ducks needing a response at home if they want to push the series to a deciding Game 7 in Las Vegas. Dorofeyev, who had seven goals this postseason, gave Vegas the finish it needed after Tomas Hertl had tied it in the third period and Anaheim answered late.
Dorofeyev’s path to the decisive goal was not straightforward. He left the ice for a few minutes in the second period after taking a hard shot off his right knee, then returned and delivered the kind of end result Vegas has leaned on all spring. He said, “I just blocked a shot,” and added that it is “kind of a [lousy] part of my job, but it hurts more when I miss it. I just had to get myself together and get back on the ice.”
The Golden Knights needed every bit of that resolve from a player who set the team record for power-play goals with 20 during the season. Hertl had gone 29 games without a goal before scoring in two straight, and he helped set up Dorofeyev’s power-play marker in the first period with the primary assist. Jack Eichel had two assists, including the primary helper on the overtime winner.
Carter Hart made 34 saves for Vegas, a sharp rebound after he allowed four goals on 23 shots in a 4-3 loss in Anaheim two nights earlier. Vegas has now answered with a road win and moved closer to a return to the conference final for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2023.
Anaheim kept itself alive with a late push. Beckett Sennecke extended his goal streak to four games with a power-play score, and defenseman Olen Zellweger scored his first career playoff goal from the left circle to tie the game at 2 with 3:05 left in regulation. Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier each had two assists, and Lukas Dostal stopped 29 shots.
The Ducks also played through a hit that changed the game’s tone early. Ryan Poehling was helped off the ice after being checked hard into the boards by Brayden McNabb nearly midway through the first period, and McNabb received a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct that cost Vegas a first-pair defenseman. John Tortorella said he would not address whether officials made the right call on the McNabb penalty, but he did question why there was no call when Dylan Coghlan was hit at the end of regulation.
Zellweger said the Ducks will not fold under the pressure of the moment. “I know this group's going to bounce back,” he said. “We have all playoffs long.” Thursday’s Game 6 will tell whether Anaheim can answer again at home, or whether Vegas ends the series and moves on to the Western Conference final.
