Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) celebrates scoring against Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) in the third period in game 5 during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wed Apr 29, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

Wed April 29, 2026

SALT LAKE CITY–The Utah Mammoth surrendered the tying goal with 53 seconds left in regulation and go on to fall in double-overtime 5-4 as Mammoth faced elimination on Friday. .

The Western Conference First-Round Series contest between the Mammoth and Golden Knights returned to T-Mobile arena on Wednesday night for Game 5 with the two teams knotted up at 2-2. Returning to the Mammoth lineup for his first game since sustaining an upper body injury in a March 24 matchup against the Edmonton Oilers was forward Barrett Hayton, one of only three Utah players alongside Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse to have played the final playoff game for the Arizona Coyotes on August 19, 2020, against the Colorado Avalanche. Hayton missed the last ten games of the regular season as well as the first four of this playoff series.

The first period was full of physical play between the squads but remained scoreless with each team mustering six futile shots on goal until Mammoth defenseman John Marino found the back of the Vegas net with under three minutes remaining for his first playoff goal, assisted by Keller and Nick Schmaltz, to go up 1-0. With 75 seconds remaining in the frame, Mikhail Sergachev was whistled for boarding against Brett Howden and it was costly. At 19:19, Pavel Dorofeyev evened the score on the power play with his second goal of the post-season, assisted by Tomas Hertl and Jack Eichel, to send the clubs back to their respective locker rooms tied 1-1.

Utah and Vegas remained knotted up at one goal apiece until just past the halfway mark of the second period when Mammoth forward Lawson Crouse put the puck past Carter Hart on a snap shot for his third goal of the playoffs, assisted by Keller and Sergachev, giving the visiting Mammoth a 2-1 lead over the Knights.

Vegas drew even once again at 15:37 when Dorofeyev banged in his second of the game, assisted by Shea Theodore and Ivan Barbashev. With under three minutes remaining, Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka turned the puck over from behind the net to Mark Stone who sent the puck to the waiting stick of Theodore who gave the Golden Knights their first lead of the game on his second goal of the series as the period came to a close.

The Mammoth began the third period with a golden opportunity to break even with Vegas when Cole Smith took a double-minor penalty eleven seconds into the frame for high-sticking against Keller. And Utah promptly squandered it as the Golden Knights held the line despite a flurry of Utah shot attempts.

Perhaps Vegas was still recovering from the extended penalty kill when Dylan Guenther lit the lamp at 5:54 for his third goal of the series, assisted by Kailer Yamamoto and MacKenzie Weegar, tying the score for the third time in the game.

With 7:18 remaining in the third, the Mammoth took their third lead of the game when Michael Carcone ripped the puck past Hart on a slap shot for his second goal of the series, assisted by Alexander Kerfoot and JJ Peterka, to go up 4-3. Vegas pulled Hart with 1:40 remaining to activate the extra attacker, and the gamble paid off as Dorofeyev completed the hat trick with 53 seconds remaining in regulation to tie things up for the fourth time in the game 4-4 with his fourth goal of the playoffs to force overtime.

In the first overtime period – which already indicates what happened, or didn’t – both teams came within inches of taking a 3-2 series lead as fans in the arena and at home were at the edges of their seats with their hearts pumping. At 13:42 Vegas knocked down the puck with a high stick with the subsequent Golden Knight player tipping it into the goal but it was immediately nullified on account of the high stick. On the same play, Sean Durzi cross-checked Ivan Barbashev in front of the net to earn a two minute minor penalty, but Barbashev embellished his reaction and took an offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalty resulting in 4-on-4 hockey which failed to yield any change in the outcome of the period.

At 3:42 of the second overtime period, Reilly Smith went to the sin bin for high-sticking against John Marino. With Utah’s youth and speed, the Mammoth seemed potentially on the cusp of putting the game away and returning home with an opportunity to clinch in front of the Delta Center fans.

Vegas successfully fought off some Grade A chances by Utah during the power play and earned a faceoff in their offensive zone 90 seconds into their penalty kill. Brett Howden won the faceoff against Lawson Crouse and 14 seconds later stunned the Mammoth with a shorthanded goal, assisted by Mitch Marner, to beat Utah 5-4 and send the series back to Salt Lake City where the Mammoth face elimination on Friday.

“Win one at home, I think that’s our focus,” said Associate Captain Lawson Crowse when asked in the locker room about his initial takeaway from the game. “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 gotta go win one at home.” Defenseman John Marino added, “We’re a resilient group. i think we know the ebbs and flows of a playoff series. They win two, we win two. We gotta be ready to go.”

Mammoth Captain Clayton Keller said, “I like our group, we’re still confident. Obviously it sucks to lose that one tonight, but we get to go home and play in front of our fans and win a game at home. Each game we’re learning, we’re getting better, and we have to continue to do that, watch video, adapt to what they’re doing and go from there.” When asked what they need to do moving forward, Keller said, “You just gotta stick with it. You can’t change your game. Maybe when you get tired, it’s two extra periods of intense playoff hockey, you just stay with it, trust your teammates. I think line changes are huge. I think just setting up the next line, getting the next zone, just playing simple and going at it that way. We’re a confident group and we believe in one another and in our team and I think these are the most fun games to be a part of . Down 3-2, we get to go home and play in front of fans, if you’re not fired up for that you’ve got something wrong with you.”

Head Coach André Tourigny opened his post-game remarks saying, “That was a hell of a game. I think both teams played really hard. We were really close. Unfortunately we give that 6-on-5 goal and could not get it done in overtime, but I’m really proud of the way the guys played. I still think there are a few things we can clean up and be a little bit better. I think we had a big improvement in our play since the last game, but there are still areas I think we can get better.” Of the effort of his players, Bear said, “I don’t feel there’s anybody in our lineup that wasn’t up to par tonight. I think everybody had a push, everybody had a contribution. There’s no such thing as a perfect game. There’s no such thing as any of our players not making a mistake. That’s not what we expect. But if you look at their effort, if you look at their focus, our urgency, our execution – I think we did a good job.

A win will force a Game 7 in Las Vegas on Sunday. A loss will end the season with a lot of soul searching, agonizing over what might have been, and analyzing what changes must be made to take the next step in 2026-27.