Utah Mammoth fans got their first taste of playoff hockey in 2026, and the experience came with a bitter ending. The Vegas Golden Knights, the Stanley Cup runner-up, knocked Utah out, and one player in particular left a mark that Mammoth fans are unlikely to forget anytime soon: Pavel Dorofeyev.
Dorofeyev, now with the New York Rangers, may end up wearing the label of the first-ever mammoth-killer. At times, he was the player driving Vegas through the series, and Utah never really found a clean answer for him when the games were hanging in the balance.
The Mammoth actually put themselves in position to control the matchup. They went up 2-1 in the series, and in Game 4 they were close to pushing Vegas to the brink. Utah led 4-3 late in the third period before the Golden Knights tied it and then won in overtime.
Game 5 is the one that will stick with Mammoth fans the longest. The teams traded punches all night, and Dorofeyev scored twice in the first two periods to help Vegas build a 3-2 lead.
Utah then answered with two goals in the third and moved ahead 4-3 late. But with just 53 seconds left, Dorofeyev finished the hat trick and tied it.
Vegas then won again in overtime while shorthanded.
By Game 6, Utah was overpowered in a 5-1 loss, even though Dorofeyev did not record a point. Still, the damage had already been done.
Game 5 changed the entire feel of the series. If Utah had held on there, the Mammoth would have been up 3-2 and headed home for a Game 7 in Utah.
That’s why Dorofeyev’s name will linger with this fan base. Utah supporters will remember the two blown third-period leads that let Vegas back into the series, but they’ll also remember the individual brilliance that helped finish them off.
There is at least one twist ahead. Dorofeyev is now out of the Western Conference after the Rangers traded for him, which means a future Mammoth-Rangers meeting will carry a little extra edge. Utah will have former Ranger Vincent Trocheck, while the Rangers will have Dorofeyev, who may or may not already have a grudge attached to his name.
For now, though, the Golden Knights remain the team Mammoth fans dislike most.
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