3 takeaways from Knights’ win: Rookie rallies team in Minnesota

Pavel Dorofeyev received a Reilly Smith high-five the first time he scored Monday. He was wrapped in a Nic Hague bear hug on the second one.

The only reason there wasn’t another spirited celebration the third time the rookie right wing put the puck in the net was because he was the only Golden Knights player on the ice at the time. But he received another round of kudos from his teammates when Smith ended the shootout one round later to finish a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday at Xcel Energy Center.

The Knights earned that win because of Dorofeyev. The 22-year-old scored a game-tying goal in the second period, a game-tying six-on-five goal with 35 seconds left in the third and a goal in the shootout to extend it to a fifth round.

His efforts gave the Knights a crucial two points instead of a possible none. Their second straight win over the Wild pushed their lead in the Pacific Division and Western Conference to three points over second-place Los Angeles with five games remaining.

The Knights also dampened what could have been a raucous occasion in the other locker room. The Wild could have clinched a playoff spot with a win, but they needed to wait 18 more minutes for Nashville’s loss to Dallas to punch their ticket.

“It’s been pretty tough for us to win in this building, so when we’re able to do it, especially this time of year, they’re very important points,” Smith said. “Being down a goal with a minute left and coming back and picking up two points, that’s huge for our group right now.”

Dorofeyev wasn’t even supposed to play.

He was a healthy scratch when the Western Conference division leaders met Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. There didn’t appear to be room to fit him back in Monday, either. The Knights (48-22-7) needed to clear a spot for Smith, who returned after missing four games with a lower-body injury.

A door opened back up when center Chandler Stephenson was a late scratch with an illness.

“Sometimes you get lucky, right?” said coach Bruce Cassidy, who joked that Stephenson might have deserved the game’s first star.

Dorofeyev blasted a one-timer for his first goal with 3:26 left in the second period after a setup from Smith, tying the game 2-2. Right wing Matt Boldy responded with his 11th goal in eight games to put the Wild ahead again 41 seconds before the second intermission.

Minnesota (44-23-10) did its best to sit on its lead from there. The Knights had only seven shots on goal in the third before pulling goaltender Laurent Brossoit for an extra attacker. A third loss in four games seemed imminent.

That’s when center Jack Eichel’s backhand pass, after a slight deflection from center William Karlsson, found Dorofeyev in the slot. He rifled it into the top left corner of the net for his first multigoal game in the NHL. The equalizer gave him seven goals in his past 10 games.

Dorofeyev still wasn’t done.

The Knights needed him to come to the rescue again after Minnesota center Joel Eriksson Ek scored in the fourth round of the shootout. If Dorofeyev missed, the game was over. He instead beat goaltender Filip Gustavsson with a backhand-forehand move that kept the Knights’ chances alive.

Smith won it on the team’s next attempt after center Ryan Hartman was stopped by Brossoit. The Knights’ NHL-leading 11th third-period comeback gave them breathing room in the standings. More than that, it might have provided them crucial information before the playoffs.

Namely, who should be in the lineup.

“He’s scorching,” right wing Keegan Kolesar said with a grin about Dorofeyev. “I don’t even want to be around him. I’ll get second-degree burns, right?”

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Karlsson hits career high

Karlsson finished with two assists, giving him a career-best 37 this season.

He also has 14 goals for 51 points in 77 games. That represents a solid increase from his 35 points in 67 games a season ago.

Karlsson also continues to provide the Knights with outstanding effort in all areas of the ice. He and Dorofeyev were tied for the team lead with a plus-2 rating.

2. Depth strikes again

The Knights did have the lead at one point in regulation after a goal from their fourth line.

Kolesar tipped in a shot from defenseman Ben Hutton 9:59 into the first. It was Kolesar’s eighth goal of the season, a career high.

The assist gave Hutton a three-game point streak since entering the lineup for defenseman Shea Theodore, who is out with an undisclosed injury. That matches the longest streak of Hutton’s career.

3. Boogeymen no more?

The Knights swept the season series with Minnesota.

The results represent quite the turnaround. The Knights entered this season 7-11-1 against the Wild and 2-7-0 at Xcel Energy Center. They defeated Minnesota by a combined score of 14-5 this season.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.