Hunched in pain and lying on the ice for several seconds, it looked like Pavel Dorofeyev\u2019s night was over.<\/p>\n
The puck came off the stick of defenseman Jackson LaCombe and hit Dorofeyev inside his right knee.<\/p>\n
Dorofeyev eventually got up and skated to the back under his own power. He came back late in the second period.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just blocked a shot,\u201d Dorofeyev said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a (expletive) part of my job, but it hurts more when I miss.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t miss on Tuesday. Dorofeyev is the reason why the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> are one win away from going back to the Western Conference Final.<\/p>\n Dorofeyev notched his second goal of the game at 4:10 of overtime, and the short-handed Knights secured a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 5 of their second-round series at T-Mobile Arena.<\/p>\n The Knights lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 and will have a chance to close it out in Game 6 on Thursday at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.<\/p>\n PAVEL DOROFEYEV CALLS GAME \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n VEGAS WINS GAME 5 IN @ENERGIZER<\/a> OVERTIME! #StanleyCup<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/BiAoEew6PZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NHL (@NHL) May 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n After the biggest game of his life, the soft-spoken Dorofeyev was a man of few words.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so good,\u201d Dorofeyev said. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n The 25-year-old goal scorer gathered a puck that center Jack Eichel rang off the post and picked the far corner off the hop for the first playoff overtime winner of his career.<\/p>\n \u201cThe puck seems to follow him,\u201d coach John Tortorella said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t say much. Just goes and plays.\u201d<\/p>\n Dorofeyev added a power-play goal in the first period when he stripped Anaheim center Chris Kreider of the puck, walked in the slot and scored top shelf.<\/p>\n He has seven goals in the playoffs, tied for the league lead.<\/p>\n \u201cMassive game for Pav,\u201d defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. \u201cI think everyone who watches our games knows that he\u2019s an elite goal scorer. In playoffs, sometimes, you got to eat a shot or take a hit to make a play.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s big plays in big moments.\u201d<\/p>\n Tomas Hertl, who ended a two-plus-month goal-less drought at the end of Game 4<\/a> on Sunday, broke a 1-1 tie at 4:48 of the third for his first 5-on-5 goal since Feb. 1.<\/p>\n Goaltender Carter Hart finished with 34 saves and improved to 6-0 in his postseason career in overtime.<\/p>\n But one he didn\u2019t stop was Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger\u2019s wrist shot with 3:05 remaining that forced overtime.<\/p>\n The Knights were already going into Tuesday short-handed, playing without captain Mark Stone (lower body) for the second straight game and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (upper body) for the fifth straight game.<\/p>\n It went from bad to worse nine minutes into the game when defenseman Brayden McNabb was given a major penalty<\/a> and game misconduct for an interference penalty on Ducks center Ryan Poehling.<\/p>\n The hit was clean, but McNabb skated into his check late. Poehling\u2019s head hit the glass and he needed assistance off the ice.<\/p>\n Ducks coach Joel Quenneville did not have an update on Poehling.<\/p>\n On top of Dorofeyev missing nearly 10 minutes in the second, the Knights were down to 16 skaters for most of a second period where they were outshot 16-7.<\/p>\n At 6:05 p.m., as fans were filing in, the loudspeakers played \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Believin\u2019\u201d by Journey, the typical song one plays before a game of much importance.<\/p>\n The Knights will fly to Anaheim one win away from heading to the NHL\u2019s final four.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re an experienced team. We\u2019re a veteran team,\u201d Tortorella said. \u201cOur guys rely on that.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com.<\/a> Follow @DannyWebster21<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n \t\t\t