Did I tell you how important Game 5 was for the Vegas Golden Knights? Heck, I'd tell you that it'd be an important game for the Utah Mammoth as well. But we care about the Golden Knights here and not the neighbors to the east.
Anyways, the Golden Knights battled their neighbors for momentum in Game 5. The battle took place at T-Mobile Arena on a random Wednesday. And... the Utah Mammoth won by a score of 4-3.
JUST KIDDING!
The Vegas Golden Knights got a 5-4 victory yet again, adding one more overtime period in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead.
Goals by John Marino, Dylan Guenther, Lawson Crouse, and Michael Carcone pushed the Mammoth offense throughout Game 5. For the Golden Knights, they got a hat trick from Dorofeyev (the sixth in franchise history) and a goal by Shea Theodore carried the offense past the finish line. Brett Howden added another (!) short-handed goal with Mitch Marner adding yet another assist.
Anyways, let's dive into this absolute stinker with some positives and negatives. Who's starting to shine for the Golden Knights? Who needs to be careful with their sticks (literally) and make smarter plays?
Somebody let Pavel Dorofeyev get hot
People were talking about how Pavel Dorofeyev needed a big playoff showing to finally emerge onto the scene. There are some good reasons for that, too *cough, cough, new contract*. The Russian winger needed to establish himself as a bona fide sniper that the Golden Knights could rely on.
At first, that wasn't the case. The 25-year-old didn't have a single point in the first three games of the series, indicating that the kid wasn't ready. Well... how did that work out in the last two games?
PAVEL DOROFEYEV PLAYOFF HAT TRICK TO TIE THE GAME AGAIN FOR VEGAS WOW 🎩🚨 pic.twitter.com/czqFKNl2QX
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 30, 2026
In Game 5, he buried a weird bounce to tie the game. The next goal, he buries a goal in the slot to tie the game... again. His next goal? The third-period equalizer. Lo and behold, Dorofeyev has four goals in his past two games.
That's great news in more ways than one for the winger. First, he's helping the Golden Knights lead the scoring charge and is picking up the slack. But it also helps his case for getting a new contract, specifically if he wants a good payday.
The Golden Knights can't take dumb penalties late in the game
Starting the third period, you'd want your team to play smart and clean. You don't want to take a high-sticking penalty 11 seconds into the period that puts you at a massive disadvantage. Sadly, that's what Cole Smith did.
The trade deadline acquisition clipped Clayton Keller to start the period, leaving the Golden Knights to kill off a four-minute penalty. Granted the Golden Knights have done a terrific job of killing off penalties. However, there's more to the story.
This series has been extremely intense, with penalties being called left and right. One bad penalty and things can go south fast. The good news? Utah's power play has been as ineffective in this series, giving Vegas plenty of opportunities to seize the momentum again.
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