Pavel Dorofeyev’s apparent goal for the Vegas Golden Knights was waived off after video review determined he used his hand to bat the puck as it crossed into the Colorado net. The ruling flipped the momentum early in Game 3, and Jack Drury scored less than a m
The moment Pavel Dorofeyev’s stick met the puck, it looked like the Vegas Golden Knights had finally found life in Game 3.
It was the kind of play that happens at full speed—an opening-period power play. a puck bouncing into the air. Dorofeyev cross-checking it toward the net. From the stands and from the broadcast angle. it was nearly impossible to tell whether he redirected it with his stick or with his hand. On the ice, the goal stood. Then it didn’t.
After video review, the call was overturned and the goal was waived off. The NHL Situation Room determined: “Pavel Dorofeyev used his hand to bat the puck, which caused the puck to illegally enter the Colorado net.” The ruling was upheld on review.
The confusion wasn’t just on the bench. Even the broadcast crew—Sean McDonagh. Ray Ferraro. and officiating analyst Dave Jackson—assumed the goal was going to be ruled off for high-sticking. and they did not agree with the outcome. Their assumption came from the same thing that made so many viewers do a double-take: the puck clearly did not appear to hit Dorofeyev’s hand.
What made the moment even harder to swallow for Vegas was the timing. The Golden Knights were still on the power play when the goal was wiped away—so for a brief stretch, the power-play advantage remained the one bright spot.
That brightness disappeared almost immediately. Less than a minute after Dorofeyev’s goal was waived off, Colorado forward Jack Drury scored on a breakaway to make it 3-0.
Vegas had been down 2-0 in the first period when the power play arrived. They thought they had answered right away. Instead, the video review turned their lead-in moment into a setback, and Drury’s breakaway goal pushed the deficit farther just as the clock kept moving through the final 40 minutes.
The question now is simple and brutal for the Golden Knights: can they still mount a comeback from this position in the Western Conference Final, or will they drop their first game in the series?
Vegas Golden Knights Colorado Avalanche Pavel Dorofeyev Jack Drury Game 3 Western Conference Final NHL Situation Room video review power play