The Vegas Golden Knights tied the series 2-2 with a 5-4 overtime victory over the Utah Mammoth in Game 4 of their first-round series on Monday night at the Delta Center.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
Pavel Dorofeyev struck first at 1:12 in the opening period to give the Golden Knights an early 1-0 lead. Jack Eichel sent the puck to Ivan Barbashev in the circle, who set up Dorofeyev with a cross-slot feed as he beat Karel Vejmelka short side. With 1:22 remaining in the first frame, Brett Howden netted a shorthanded goal to extend the Golden Knights’ lead to 2-0. Mitch Marner won a puck battle along the boards and dished it to Howden in the slot as he went backhand to forehand, lifting the puck into the net. Cole Smith gave Vegas its largest edge of the game, 3-0, at 3:26 in the middle period. Noah Hanifin fired a shot from the blue line, and Smith tipped the puck past Vejmelka for the score. At 8:04 in the second frame, Nick Schmaltz got Utah on the board, and 29 seconds later, Ian Cole made it a 3-2 game. Michael Carcone pulled the game even, 3-3, with a goal at 1:44 in the final frame. Three minutes later, Clayton Keller netted a goal to give the Mammoth their first lead of the game at 4-3. With 9:35 remaining in the third period, Howden deflected the puck into the back of the net off Hanifin’s shot to tie the score 4-4. Neither team found the back of the net for the remainder of regulation, and the game was sent to overtime. With less than one minute remaining in the extra period, Shea Theodore scored the game-winner to take Game 4 in Utah. Eichel backhanded the puck through three Mammoth players from behind the net, and Theodore launched the puck home to take the 5-4 overtime victory.
TOP PERFORMERS
Shea Theodore: Theodore scored the game-winning goal in overtime to tie up the series 2-2, marking his 16th postseason goal with the Golden Knights.
Brett Howden: Howden netted two goals and picked up an assist to boost his career playoff points to 18 (11G, 7A).
Pavel Dorofeyev: Dorofeyev scored the game-opening goal to mark his third playoff point (2G, 1A).
Cole Smith: Cole Smith netted his first career postseason goal.
Jack Eichel: Eichel contributed to three goals in the victory, including Theodore's game-winner in overtime.
SERIES AT A GLANCE
All times PST
Game 1: Vegas Golden Knights 4, Utah Mammoth 2 | HIGHLIGHTS
Game 2: Utah Mammoth 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2 | HIGHLIGHTS
Game 3: Utah Mammoth 4, Vegas Golden Knights 2 | HIGHLIGHTS
Game 4: Vegas Golden Knights 5, Utah Mammoth 4, OT | HIGHLIGHTS
Game 5: Wednesday, April 29 – 7 p.m. PT | T-Mobile Arena | BUY TICKETS
Game 6: Friday, May 1 – Time TBD | Delta Center
Game 7: (if necessary): Sunday, May 3 – Time TBD | T-Mobile Arena | BUY TICKETS
VGK STATS OF THE KNIGHT
Shea Theodore netted his first career overtime playoff goal in the win over Utah.
Brett Howden recorded his first career playoff shorthanded goal and became the sixth Golden Knight to score a postseason shorthanded goal.
Four different Golden Knights netted their first goal of the series, including Pavel Dorofeyev, Howden, Cole Smith and Theodore.
Jack Eichel recorded his tenth multi-assist playoff game as a Golden Knight, tying Theodore for the most in franchise history.
Howden (2G, 1A) and Eichel (3A) both tallied three-point nights in the victory.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Golden Knights and Mammoth will meet in Game 5 of the series on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. Catch the action on Vegas 34 in Las Vegas, TNT nationally, or listen on FOX Sports Las Vegas 94.7/1340 and Deportes Vegas 1460.
