Here are three things to watch in Game 5:
1. Jack Eichel
The Vegas center leads the series with six points (one goal, five assists) in four games after a three-assist performance in Game 4.
He played 29:22, most among forwards on either team, and set up the tying goal by forward Brett Howden at 10:25 of the third period and the winning goal by defenseman Shea Theodore at 19:08 of overtime.
“I felt good,” Eichel told the Golden Knights radio broadcast. “I was happy to help the group in different ways.”
Eichel has 49 points (11 goals, 38 assists) in 44 playoff games for Vegas since 2023, 11 more than anyone else for the franchise in that span.
2. Power plays
The Golden Knights shuffled their power-play units before Game 4, then shuffled them further during the game.
Most notably, Theodore replaced Mitch Marner as the quarterback on the first unit, then Theodore and Marner played up top together for a power play in overtime.
Still, Vegas went 0-for-4 and is 1-for-12 over the past three games.
Tortorella said Wednesday he didn’t like what he saw in Game 4. The Golden Knights had Marner at the bumper spot and Theodore on top at one point at the morning skate.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do, but we’ll have to see the first unit,” said Utah defenseman Ian Cole, a key penalty killer. “We’ll try to get through that first power play and see where they’re going, where guys are. … It’s an interesting game of chess.”
3. Ice time
Utah forward JJ Peterka played one shift in Game 4 after taking a high-sticking penalty at 5:39 of the third period, stalling the Mammoth’s momentum 29 seconds after center Clayton Keller had scored to give them a 4-3 lead. He played 10:18; only forward Liam O'Brien (8:11) played less among Utah skaters.
In his first playoff series, Peterka has no points and is minus-3, after the 24-year-old had 47 points (25 goals, 22 assists) and was plus-6 in 82 regular-season games. Tourigny had a long talk with him on the ice at the morning skate.
“We all know what he’s capable of doing, and we must not forget, there’s a lot of guys who are in their first playoffs,” Tourigny said. “You hear there’s no space. ‘OK, well, what exactly is that, and how does that affect my game? How will that be, and how hard will be the battles?’ … For any of those guys who are in their first NHL playoff, OK, now they have a real taste.”
Vegas forward Pavel Dorofeyev started Game 4 on the first line and gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 1:12. He also appeared to score in overtime, but the goal was disallowed after video review because the play was offside. In between, though, he was replaced by Howden on the first line and played only two shifts in the third period.
