Brett Howden scored a short-handed goal at 5:28 in the second overtime as the Vegas Golden Knights took a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series with a 5-4 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Howden won a puck battle with Alexander Kerfoot in the right corner, got control of the puck in the right circle and then rifled a wrist shot in the top far corner past Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka for the game-winner.
“It was a crazy game,” Howden said. “A lot of back and forth. They have a lot of speed, a lot of skill. … We’re obviously super happy just to get the job done.”
Vegas’ Pavel Dorofeyev scored a hat trick, including a 6-on-5 goal with 52.7 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
“I was so fired up,” Dorofeyev said of the tying goal. “Good things happen when you go to the blue paint.”
Shea Theodore had a goal and an assist and Jack Eichel logged two assists for the Golden Knights, who can wrap up the best-of-seven series with a Game 6 victory on Friday in Salt Lake City. Vegas goaltender Carter Hart finished with 34 saves.
John Marino, Lawson Crouse, Dylan Guenther and Michael Carcone scored goals and Clayton Keller had two assists for Utah. Vejmelka made 31 saves.
Crouse said of his takeaway from the game, “Win one at home. I think that’s our focus. … We battled hard. Obviously, it sucked giving up that goal late in the third for them to tie it, but we pushed. We never stopped working. An unfortunate ending, but like I said, we’ve got to go win one at home.”
Vegas pulled Hart for an extra attacker with 1:40 remaining in the third period. Dorofeyev tied it in the last minute when scooped in a rebound of a Reilly Smith shot from in front of the net, setting the stage for overtime.
“Yeah, it feels great obviously,” Dorofeyev said of his hat trick. “(Found) a way to help the team. Put some pucks on the net, and found the back of the net.”
Utah took a 1-0 lead at the 17:11 mark of the first period on Marino’s first career playoff goal.
Vegas tied it just before the end of the period with a power-play goal by Dorofeyev, who snapped a shot from the right circle under Vejmelka’s left arm. The score ended an 0-for-13 drought on the power play for the Golden Knights.
The Mammoth regained the lead midway through the second period when Keller, along the right boards, swung a pass to a wide-open Crouse at the top of the right circle. Crouse ripped a wrist shot past Hart’s blocker side.
The Golden Knights answered with goals from Dorofeyev and Theodore in the span of 1:40 near the end of the period to take a 3-2 lead.
Guenther tied it 3-3 when he finished an odd-man rush with Kailer Yamamoto by firing a wrist shot under the crossbar from the left circle at 5:54 of the third period.
Carcone gave the Mammoth a 4-3 lead at 12:42 of the third. He shot a one-timer from the right circle off a Kerfoot crossing pass at the end of another odd-man rush following an Eichel giveaway in his own offensive zone.
–Field Level Media
