Golden Knights’ Dorofeyev Making It Hard For Cassidy To Take Him Out Of Lineup Again

The Vegas Golden Knights took on the Minnesota Wild Monday night with a last-minute change to their lineup. All-Star Chandler Stephenson was unable to play in the game due to illness, which brought in rookie Pavel Dorofeyev, who has just 15 games of NHL experience.

Dorofeyev went on to score two goals and one in the shootout to contribute to the Golden Knight's 4-3 win over the Wild. The kid just can't stop scoring.

The 22-year-old Russian now has seven goals and two assists for eleven points in his last ten games since he was called up from the Henderson Silver Knights. Head coach Bruce Cassidy has been trying to find a permanent forward group as the VGK get set for the playoffs. As a result, Dorofeyev was scratched last game. But with another strong offensive performance, Dorofeyev is making it hard for Cassidy to take him out of the lineup.

"It wasn't our intention to keep Pav (Pavel Dorofeyev) out for a long stretch. We were just kind of going from game to game, especially with guys coming in and out… Stevie might have been the first star tonight if you follow my logic," coach Cassidy joked.

Also returning for Monday night's game was Reilly Smith, who missed a handful of games with a lower-body injury. Smith fittingly scored the game-winning shootout goal and is currently on a line alongside Dorofeyev and William Karlsson.

"I think Pav is in a good spot with those two. He's got two really accountable 200-foot players, and when you put a young guy in, I think it makes him a little more comfortable. Most young guys are always worried about mistakes and goals against, and there is obviously merit in that. But you still want them to play. Him fitting in there has worked out well, and obviously, Smitty (Reilly Smith) and Karly (William Karlsson) get a lot of credit for that as well.

The Golden Knights, all season, have gotten contributions from players up and down their lineup. In this game alone, they saw Ben Hutton pick up another point, Laurent Brossoit add another win, and Dorofeyev score some points. All three of these players have been scratched or in Henderson this season.

"It's great. It's really hard to do (come back and score), so we are just going to try and keep feeding him the puck because it seems like he's got a lot of confidence right now. He's putting them in the back of the net. As a linemate of him, you just have to keep feeding him and give him opportunities. I was pretty shocked he missed a couple of games, but it's great to see him jump back in and not lose a beat," said Smith regarding Dorofeyev.

The future is bright for the 2019 third-round pick of the Golden Knights, Dorofeyev. With nine points in 14 games, seven of them being goals, he will be a big part of the Golden Knight's offense moving forward if he can continue to stay consistent.

"He's scorch. I don't even want to be around him, or I will get second-degree burns… It's awesome to see someone like that come in and get success and make good of it. Obviously, the future is bright if he can keep going like this," said Keegan Kolesar.