Golden Knights get a clutch performance in the face of adversity with critical game 5 win over Anaheim

Well, that was a game. Faced with the absence of Mark Stone for a second consecutive game, and coming off a disappointing 4-3 loss in Game 4, the Golden Knights entered Tuesday night proverbially on the ropes. The Ducks' speed and youth affected them heavily, even in their wins, and after Brayden McNabb's five-and-a-game only a few minutes in, things looked even worse. All of that was capped off by an injury to Pavel Dorofeyev in the second period, after taking a slapshot off his knee.

However... it didn't go according to plan for Anaheim. Like several games against Utah, the Golden Knights came through in the clutch yet again, with their third overtime win of the playoffs putting them firmly in the driver's seat for this series. Let's take a look at this critical win for Vegas, which has them just one game away from yet another Western Conference Finals.

Pavel Dorofeyev has a legacy game

A few weeks ago, I questioned whether Pavel Dorofeyev, he of 72 goals in the past two seasons, could step up in the playoffs. Just a few days later, he posted a hat trick in Game 5 against Utah.

Needless to say, that article (happily) continues to age poorly, as Doro had a true legacy game for the second straight Game 5 of the playoffs. Just a few minutes after talented rookie Beckett Sennecke put Anaheim on the board with a power-play goal during the aforementioned McNabb major, Dorofeyev responded with a PPG of his own, pick-pocketing Chris Kreider and doing it all himself:

However, disaster then struck, as during the third period, Pavs went down hard after taking a John Carlson slapshot directly to his knee. He proceeded to miss the rest of the second period, leaving Vegas fans wondering if all our injuries would finally bring us down.

However, he somehow returned for the third period, and just a few minutes into overtime, did this:

Pavs is now up to seven goals in the playoffs, with that absurd bat-in marking his first career playoff overtime goal. It was the second time tonight he made Kreider look silly, and with it, the second time he's put a playoff opponent on the metaphorical ropes. He's gonna be expensive this offseason, but man, I hope he gets paid here.

Hertl Power is back, baby!

Normally-strong center Tomas Hertl had gone 30 games without a goal entering game 4, before he potted one late to cut Anaheim's lead to one. He got a much more important one on Tuesday.

With the game tied up at one entering the third period, Hertl took advantage of a chaotic netfront scramble and knocked the puck through his countryman Lukas Dostal's five-hole, breaking the tie and scoring for a second straight game. While Anaheim ultimately tied it later on, Hertl's goal gave Vegas critical momentum in a tight one, and his assist on Dorofeyev's first goal of the night shows that Hertl Power is returning to form.

Up next, the Golden Knight will have a chance to close it out on Thursday night in Anaheim. Go Knights go!

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