Mammoth fall to Golden Knights in double overtime, trail series 3-2

Double overtime Stanley Cup Playoff Game 5, Round 1 in Las Vegas against the Utah Mammoth. Photo: courtesy of Utah Mammoth // NHL

LAS VEGAS — The Utah Mammoth fell to the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 in double overtime Wednesday, a grueling Game Five that required an extra 25 1/2 minutes of hockey to decide. The loss sends Utah home trailing the first-round series 3-2 and facing elimination in Friday’s Game Six.

Still, the Mammoth are not ready to fold. Back-to-back overtime losses have done little to shake the team’s belief that it can push this series to a winner-take-all Game Seven.

“Tons of fight,” captain Clayton Keller told the NHL. “(We’re) never not being positive, whatever comes our way. I like our group, we’re still confident. Obviously sucks to lose that one tonight but we get to go home, play in front of our fans, and win a game at home.”

That fight was on full display from the opening faceoff. John Marino opened the scoring with his first career playoff goal in the first period, but Pavel Dorofeyev answered on the power play two minutes later to tie it 1-1. Associate captain Lawson Crouse restored Utah’s lead early in the second, only for Dorofeyev to even the score again. When Vegas surged ahead 3-2 late in the middle frame, the Mammoth clawed back with third-period goals from Dylan Guenther and Michael Carcone to take a 4-3 lead.

The advantage didn’t hold. With 53 seconds left in regulation, Dorofeyev completed his hat trick and forced overtime at 4-4 — the same score that sent Game Four to extra time. Five and a half minutes into double overtime, Brett Howden’s shorthanded goal gave Vegas the win.

Guenther’s third-period tally extended his point streak to four games, the longest by any Mammoth skater this postseason. His three goals and Kailer Yamamoto’s four assists are tied for the team lead in the playoffs.

“That’s what we have to take away, right? The confidence we have behind this group,” Marino told the NHL. “(When) we stick to our game, we know how effective we can be against them.”

Friday’s Game Six stands as one of the most significant contests in franchise history — and a chance for the Mammoth to keep their season alive in front of their home crowd.

“We’re a confident group,” Keller said. “We believe in one another and in our team. These are the most fun games to be a part of, down 3-2, get to go home, play in front of our fans. If you’re not fired up for that, then you got something wrong with you.”