In a game that had more ups and downs than a Vegas Cirque du Soleil show, the Vegas Golden Knights (3-2) defeated the Anaheim Ducks (2-3) in overtime to win Game 5 and take a 3-2 series lead. This game had everything, power play goals, big hits, an ejection, big saves, and a great performance from Pavel Dorofeyev, returning to the ice to score the OT winner, his second of the game, after leaving with a serious injury.

Both teams only lost a player in the nine-minute battle for the remainder of the game, but for very different reasons. Golden Knights defenseman Braden McNabb blocked Ryan Poehling well away from the puck and fouled him, fouling him from the game. After officials conducted a video review of the game, McNabb was assessed a five-minute penalty for interference and a game misconduct. Poehling, meanwhile, was clearly dazed and needed help leaving the ice. Anaheim, then went to work on a five-minute power play.

While the Golden Knights did an admirable job of eliminating the first three-plus minutes of the major, Anaheim ultimately capitalized on the extended man-advantage. Cutter Gauthier made a good play to stop the puck on the right wall by flipping his stick and keeping the toe of his stick perpendicular to the ice. He then collected the puck and flipped it over Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart. The shot hit Hart’s right pad and went into the crease. Unfortunately for Hart, Beckett Seneca (5), stood unopposed near the left post and pounced on the rebound, shoveling it through the five-hole of the Golden Knights netminder. The goal came at 12:36 of the first and was Seneca’s fourth consecutive game with a goal in the series.

A few minutes later, Mitch Marner drove in on a breakaway, but Anaheim netminder Lucas Dostal was able to poke-check the puck. However, on a breakaway, Marner was intercepted by Pavel Mintyukov and the Golden Knights went on what would be their only power play of the game. When Pavel Dorofeyev hit the ice, he was like a one-man demolition team, picking up Chris Kreider’s stick and stealing the puck, weaving out and down the crease, then firing a laser shot over Dostal’s blocker. It was Dorofeyev’s sixth goal of the postseason and second power-play goal in as many games.

With exactly 11 minutes left in the second, Dorofeyev would again be the center of attention, but for a different reason. As Anaheim defenseman Jackson LaCombe wound up taking a slap shot from the left point, Dorofeyev, who was no more than six feet away, stood right in front of the missile from LaCombe’s stick and took it off the inside of his right knee. He remained lying on the ice for several minutes, had to be helped off the ice and immediately went to the locker room. He would miss the rest of the second period, but returned for the third period, thanks to the Golden Knights.

While there was no scoring in the second period, it was not due to a lack of opportunities, especially for Anaheim. The Ducks outshot the Golden Knights 17–6 in the second period, including 10 consecutive shots, but Hart was sharp and missed all 17 attempts. Neither team got a power play in the second or third period, as the game tightened up and fights subsided after the whistle.

To start the third period, the Golden Knights came out with a shooter’s mentality and overcame a 26-17 shot deficit. This was evidenced by the Golden Knights taking three shots in the first 4:48 of the period, the third of which went in. It was good old-fashioned hard work that got the Golden Knights the go-ahead goal. Rasmus Andersson hit a puck on net from the right wall that bounced off Dostal and just outside the crease. Upon seeing the bounding puck, Tomas Hertl (2) dropped to his knees, pounced in desperation to bat at the rebound, and managed to beat Dostal at 4:48 of the third minute to give the Golden Knights a 2–1 lead. For Hertl, it was his second consecutive game with a goal after going 29 consecutive games without a point.

With time running out in regulation, the Ducks came out with their most effective innings of the game. The Ducks kept the Golden Knights in their own zone for long periods of time and were shooting the puck around. Finally, the Ducks completed a tic-tac-toe passing play that passed from Gauthier to Mason McTavish in the bottom of the right circle and to Olen Zellweger (1), who initially flubbed the McTavish pass, but after double clutching, hit a heavy shot off the crossbar and tied the game at two, allowing the score to remain tied at the end of regulation and making the game the 16th game of these playoffs beyond that. Will increase. regulation

Although there have been many games that have gone into overtime in these playoffs, this will not be one of them. Less than five minutes into the extra frame, and after two unsuccessful clearing attempts by Anaheim, the puck ended up on Jack Eichel’s stick in the bottom of the right circle. His centering pass attempt hit Dostal’s pads and deflected onto Dorofeyev’s stick in the bottom of the left circle. Dorofeyev (7) wasted no time trying to settle the bouncing puck, instead pouncing on it and sending it bar-and-down over Dostal’s right shoulder for the game-winner. The goal came at 4:10 of overtime and was his second goal of the night and seventh of the postseason.

The Golden Knights are hoping history repeats itself this season. The Golden Knights found themselves in a similar situation against the Utah Mammoth in the first round. Heading home for Game 5 with the series tied at 2-2. The Golden Knights won that game 5–4 in double overtime before ending the series with a 5–1 win at Utah in Game 6. Game 6 of this series takes place on Thursday in Anaheim and the Golden Knights will look to finish the second round like they did the first round.

notes

• Both the Golden Knights and Ducks were once again without their captains. Ducks captain Radko Gudas missed his eighth consecutive game with a lower body injury and Mark Stone also missed his second consecutive game with a lower body injury.
• When the best-of-seven series is tied 2–2, the winner of Game 5 wins it 79.6 percent of the time (242–62). If the home team wins Game 5, it advances 80.7 percent of the time (151–36).

figures

• Shots on goal gave Anaheim a 36–32 win.
• Vegas had the edge in the faceoff circle, 53.1% to 46.9%.
• Vegas was 1-1 on the power play, while Anaheim was 1-2.
• Vegas had a slight edge in hits, 29-26.
• Vegas stopped 18 shots, while Anaheim stopped eight.
• Vegas had four more giveaways than Anaheim, 17–13, while takeaways favored Anaheim, 8–5.

The Vancouver Canucks beat the Colorado Avalanche 8-6 at Ball Arena on Wednesday night and for once, the ricochet mostly broke the team’s way.

Brock Boeser had a hat trick and an assist, Teddy Blueger scored twice and Marcus Pettersson scored the winning goal after Vancouver’s four-goal lead vanished.

After the win, the Canucks have now snapped a six-game losing streak by defeating the top team in the league, which says everything about how strange this game was.

Reuters reported that the Canucks set a season-high number of goals scored, while the Avalanche, who are still in first place in the Western Conference, spent most of the night chasing a game they were unwilling to take control of until very late.

I’ve watched enough Canucks hockey to know when one of those warning labels is attached when the game starts. It had it immediately, not in the general direction.

game flow

Max Sasson scored 29 seconds in, the Canucks’ fastest goal since October 2024, and even after Nathan MacKinnon responded at 1:22, his 50th of the season, the Canucks kept coming rather than folding.

At 5:21 of the first period, Blueger scored short-handed on a 2-on-1 with Liam Ohgren. Jake DeBrusk then added a power-play goal at 11:38 after redirecting Elias Pettersson’s cross-crease pass.

Gabriel Landeskog made it 3-2 late in the first, but the Canucks never let the Avalanche settle. In what was a surprising matchup, the Canucks weren’t just making money, they were doing it in different ways, early on, on the penalty kill, on the power play and later in empty nets.

Bluger struck again at 5:02 of the second, this time alone in the slot after taking a centering pass from Sasson. Boeser followed with goals at 9:42 and 15:21, and suddenly the Canucks were ahead 6–2 against a team that had come rolling.

The second Boeser goal ended Mackenzie Blackwood’s night, with Scott Wedgwood taking over after six goals on 19 shots, NHL.com reported. This is the type of score line that usually tells you the game is over. usually.

plot twist

Then the game went sideways for the Canucks. Sam Malinski scored 22 seconds after the goalkeeper change. Then Parker Kelly made it 6–4 just 14 seconds into the third, Brent Burns got Colorado within one at 13:21, and Malinski made it 6–6 after just 37 seconds.

The avalanche slowly obliterated that 6-2 hole, and it seemed as if the entire building had tilted in one direction. For Canucks fans, that kind of collapse has usually been the end, not the setup for another turn.

What changed the mood again was how quickly the Canucks responded. Pettersson scored 23 seconds after the tying goal, his first since November, beating Wedgwood from the top of the left circle to make the score 7–6.

That reaction was the greatest moment of the game. Boeser later added an empty-netter at 18:31 to complete his seventh regular season hat trick.

There is no point pretending that this will clear up the weather. It’s not like that. The Canucks still blew a huge lead, still gave up six goals, and still looked shaky when Colorado pushed. But they beat the NHL’s top team in their own building, with MacKinnon scoring 50 and the Avalanche trying to ride the spirit of another comeback. Sometimes you have to endure the chaos and move on. The Canucks will face the Minnesota Wild today (Thursday, April 2) at 8:00 PM ET at Xcel Energy Centre.

The Washington Capitals ((37-28-9) finished their three-game road trip in thrilling fashion. Although it was not easy, they managed to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights (32-26-16) 5-4 in a shootout on Saturday night.

The Capitals started off strong with Hendricks Lapierre opening the scoring in the first period. The team then took a 3–0 lead in the middle frame with goals from Justin Sourdiff and Anthony Beauvillier.

However, in the same period, the Capitals continued to play on the power play and gave up back-to-back shorthanded goals to Vegas. The momentum soon shifted to the Golden Knights as they took a 4–3 lead early in the third.

Luckily, Dylan Strome proved to be the hero on Saturday night, as he tied the game at 4-4. After this he became the game-winner in the skills competition.

With that, the Capitals are officially done with their Western Conference opponents this season. Next, the team will return home to face division rival Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

capitals analysis

Early in the game, Ivan Miroshnichenko and Brandon Duhaime recovered a fumble and gave Lapierre a puck. Lapierre then scored on a breakaway to give the Capitals a 1–0 lead, as he and Miroshnichenko now have points in consecutive games.

Later in the period, Aliaksi Protas and former teammate Nick Dowd both went for the puck but collided with each other. Both were suffering obvious pain, and Protas was knocked out for the entire night.

To start the second period, Justin Sourdiff connected with Connor McMichael on a power-play goal. Then, Ryan Leonard’s shot was redirected by Beauvillier past Adin Hill for a 3–0 lead.

However, the Capitals’ next power-play opportunity is when things started to fall apart. The team gave up shorthanded goals for the second consecutive time this month.

First, an error by Tom Wilson in the defensive zone led to Dowd getting the puck and scoring on Logan Thompson. It was Dowd’s first goal since being dealt to Vegas at the 2026 NHL trade deadline.

A few seconds later, on the man advantage, Rasmus Andersson drove into the offensive zone before decking Cole Hutson and beating Thompson. As a result, Vegas cut the deficit to 3-2.

Still in the middle frame, Jack Eichel fired into the net to tie it 3–3 and swing the momentum in Vegas’ favor. Then, to start the third, Mitch Marner scored on the power play to give the Golden Knights a 4–3 lead.

However, Washington did not give up as Strome came in after being in the penalty box for a double minor.

The Capitals started another power play and Strome drained a one-timer off a Hutson feed to tie the score at 4-4. The 29-year-old forced overtime to end his 17-game goal drought.

There was no scoring in 3-on-3 OT, as the game headed to a shootout. Strome recorded the only goal, while Thompson stopped all three shots.

capitals report card

Team: B+

The Capitals started strong, then let Vegas trail all the way. Fortunately, they counterattacked and actually won a shootout once.

Dylan Strome: A

Strome was the hero the Capitals needed as they ended their 17-game goal drought. The 29-year-old equalized in the third game and scored the game winner in the shootout.

Capitals Power Play: C+

The Capitals might have scored two goals in the power play. However, this is the second time this month the team has given up back-to-back shorthanded tallies in a one-man advantage.

Ivan Miroshnichenko: A

Miroshnichenko continues to make a difference in replacing Ethan Frank. His secondary assist on Lapierre’s goal gave him points in consecutive games.

Cole Hutson: A

Hutson finished the night with two assists, helping both Sourdiff and Strome on the power play. This is the first multi-point game of the rookie’s career.

Harry Lichtman is an award-winning journalist who covers the Washington Capitals for SportsNut. He also contributes to the sites… More about Harry Lichtman

The Detroit Pistons fell short against the Atlanta Hawks at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, suffering a painful 130-129 defeat in overtime.

The Pistons failed to carry the momentum they gained with a 113-110 win at home over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, ending their nine-game winning streak.

The Hawks, on the other hand, won their third straight and moved to 41-32. The Pistons fell 52–20.

Detroit had two chances to steal the game, but Tobias Harris overshot his fallaway jumper from the baseline, while Jalen Duren, who grabbed the offensive rebound, fell short on his quick putback. Duran was in disbelief over the disappearance attempt to close.

Missed Game Winner: #piston Star Jalen Darren missed this wide open shot.

#hawks Came to play tonight and continued the win 15-1#nba pic.twitter.com/egSeReX3Xw

– FirstDownMedia (@FirstDownMediaa) 26 March 2026

Detroit cut the lead to 130–129 with 41.2 seconds left in overtime after Dennis Jenkins’ pull-up jumper. CJ McCollum missed his three-point attempt on the ensuing possession, opening the door for the Pistons. But alas, they couldn’t turn it off.

After finishing a clutch bucket with 9.5 ticks remaining in regulation, Harris sent the game into overtime at 121-121.

Duren had a commendable effort with 26 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Harris contributed 22 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Jenkins continued his strong scoring with 19 points, three rebounds and 10 assists.

The Pistons suffered their first loss since Cade Cunningham was diagnosed with a collapsed lung. They were on a four-game winning streak before facing the Hawks.

Jalen Johnson led Atlanta with 27 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists, while McCollum had 27 points and five assists.

Detroit returns to action on Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Paul Couture is the New Jersey Devils’ best player and they have a goaltender across from them.

Hosting the Boston Bruins at the Prudential Center, Cotter scored the overtime winner, which also capped a three assist night for Jack Hughes, a new record holder for the Devils.

Just four minutes into the first period, the Devils’ defense was caught sleeping and the Bruins made them pay.

Henri Jokiharju’s shot from the point was blocked by Jacob Markstrom. However, the puck bounced off David Pastrnak, who was standing at the net-front the entire time, collected the loose puck, and slid it between Markstrom’s five-hole to give the Bruins a 1–0 lead.

The Bruins dominated the puck throughout the first period. About four minutes after the Bruins’ goal, Brandon Dillon and Mark Kastelic dropped mitts after New Jersey created tension in front of the net. Each got five minutes of majors to fight.

Boston kept the pressure on New Jersey, and eventually doubled their lead when Pavel Zacha finished off a stray chance headed by Viktor Arvidsson to make the game 2–0.

The Devils got off to a fast start in the second period and scored within the first minute of puck drop. Jack forced a turnover on neutral territory and began moving toward the Boston area. The Devils star fed Connor Brown, who was already behind the Boughton defense, provoking him for a breakaway, and he lowered the blocker side to cut the Devils’ deficit to 2–1.

Jack’s primary assist set a Devils franchise record, as he is now the fastest player to reach 400 points for New Jersey, reaching the milestone in 414 games.

The Devils remained all-out in the middle frame as they tried to erase their first period deficit. New Jersey’s top line continued to give the Bruins defense headaches. With just over eight minutes gone in the period, the Jacks made a quick move up the ice, feeding Brown in the middle of the ice, who then passed the puck to Jesper Bratt for a one-time chance in the right circle to tie the game at 2–2.

Just three minutes into the third period the Devils immediately took a 3-2 lead. Maxim Tsyplyakov drove to the net with the puck on his backhand, and fired it into the slot for Paul Cotter who scored.

Still, Pastrnak responded immediately by pulling off a slick toe-up of his own, and slid the puck to Markstrom, who the Bruins forward knocked out of position to restore the tie at three.

There was a barrage of penalties between the Devils and Bruins, starting with Kastelic’s hard hit on Cotter. Bruins forward Johnathan Kovacevic stepped up to drop the gloves, forcing Kastelic to fight for the second time on Monday.

New Jersey then committed three minor penalties, and Boston was whistled for one. Still, neither team took advantage.

The Devils and Bruins needed overtime, and the exciting period almost turned into a shootout.

However, Jack collected a loose puck in the neutral zone and pushed it to Cotter, drawing a streak across the ice. On a breakaway, Cotter scored the overtime winner to solidify the Devils’ second win in as many games.

Markstrom stopped 19 pucks on 22 shots to earn his 20th win of the season.

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls