Golden Knights edge Ducks in OT in Game 5, on verge of Western Conference Final

LAS VEGAS -- Pavel Dorofeyev scored his second goal of the game at 4:10 of overtime, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

Dorofeyev converted on a rebound near the left post following Jack Eichel's shot from the bottom of the right circle. 

“To be honest with you, I can't even tell you what happened there,” Dorofeyev said. “I just saw a puck, whipped my stick on it, and thankfully got in.”

The goal came after Olen Zellweger tied it 2-2 for Anaheim with 3:05 remaining in the third period when he scored bar down from the left dot.

“‘Zelly’ made a great play there and was able to get himself open and make a great shot,” Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier said. “He’s been extremely disciplined with how he carries himself on and off the ice. This whole season, and when he had his name called these last handful of games, he was ready to go. Kudos to him for having a great mindset these last few months, and it obviously pays off with the big goal.”

Vegas leads the best-of-7 series 3-2 and can advance to the Western Conference Final with another victory in Game 6 at Honda Center in Anaheim on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN360, SN, TVAS).

“Our guys are going to be excited about it. It’s a fun opportunity. We got no pressure,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We’ve got to come out and play hard and simple at home, get excited about the home crowd, and it’s a one-game to get back and to play one more. So that’s our mindset.”

Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist, and Eichel had two assists for the Golden Knights, the No. 1 seed from the Pacific Division. Carter Hart made 34 saves.

“High marks for the whole team tonight,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said. “I’m proud of the team tonight, getting down after losing (Brayden McNabb) on one of our top 'D.' He played three minutes, and we found a way to get things done to get away. Really proud of the hockey players.”

Beckett Sennecke scored in his fourth straight game of the series, and Gauthier and Mason McTavish each had two assists for the Ducks, the No. 3 seed from the Pacific. Lukas Dostal made 29 saves.

“There was a tight game. Obviously, lots of chances each way,” Zellweger said. “I think (Dostal) played phenomenally. So, there’s that, and then we need to just reset, and we know what we need to do next game.”

Anaheim forward Ryan Poehling sustained an upper-body injury on McNabb's hit at 9:00 of the first period and did not return. McNabb was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct.

Quenneville had no update on Poehling.

“When someone gets hurt, it’s part of the game, and you hate to see it,” Gauthier said. “But it happens. And when your name is called, you want to do everything you can in the 30-40 seconds you’re out there to help the team win.”

Sennecke scored on the ensuing power play to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 12:36, recovering a Gauthier rebound at the far post.

Dorofeyev’s power-play goal tied it 1-1 at 16:13. He stole the puck off John Carlson in the offensive zone, skated to the slot, and roofed a wrist shot.

“Nothing special there,” Dorofeyev said. “That's usually what happens when you're going to pick a pocket from the guy. It's just my job.”

Anaheim outshot Vegas 17-6 in a scoreless second period.

Hertl put the Golden Knights ahead 2-1 at 4:38 of the third period. He recovered a loose puck and shot it through Dostal’s five-hole after Brandon Saad’s tip attempt went wide.

It was Hertl’s second consecutive game with a goal following a 29-game drought that stretched back to the regular season.

“In the playoffs, only what matters is winning the games, and it doesn’t matter who scores, but you just try to stay with it,” Hertl said. “Obviously, I tried so many different things over the last two months, it was almost impossible to think about it. Hopefully, this is behind me, and this stretch should never happen again, because it was way too long.”

Hart made a save with his right pad on Jeffrey Viel’s breakaway chance at 6:15 to keep it 2-1. Sennecke then hit the post at 12:37.

“Every time we lose the game in playoffs, it’s about how you bounce back,” Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “All 20 guys who played tonight bounced back in a good way. Carter led that and made some really big saves for us at key moments, and now we need to focus on the next one.”

NOTES: Hertl became the eighth Czech player in NHL history with 30 career playoff goals and the third active, joining Ondrej Palat (51) and David Pastrnak (42). … Sennecke became the fourth rookie over the past 25 years to record a four-game goal streak in the playoffs. The others: Auston Matthews (four games in 2017), Logan Couture (four in 2011) and Nicklas Backstrom (four in 2008). … Sennecke’s five goals this postseason tied Bobby Ryan (five in 2009) for the most by a Ducks rookie in a single postseason. … The Golden Knights earned their 27th victory in a one-goal game during the Stanley Cup Playoffs since their inaugural season in 2017-18, the second most among all teams during that span, behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (29).