Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena took a hard left turn early when Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb was ejected after a thunderous hit that flipped the mood in the building and the momentum in the series.
McNabb’s play was initially called interference, then bumped up after review to a five-minute major and game misconduct. Anaheim center Ryan Poehling was left clearly shaken, needed help to get off the ice and never returned. The Ducks cashed in on the lengthy power play when rookie Beckett Sennecke struck first, only for Vegas to answer 3:37 later on a Pavel Dorofeyev power-play rebound that tied things back up. The whole sequence gave Anaheim an early emotional edge in this second-round showdown, even as the scoreboard stayed even.
Referee Review Confirms Major, Poehling Ruled Out
After a video review, officials stuck with the five-minute major and game misconduct, and Anaheim later announced Poehling was done for the night with an upper-body injury, according to Sportsnet. The call followed a sequence in which McNabb drove Poehling into the boards near the Ducks’ blue line, taking the veteran Golden Knights defender out of the rotation for the rest of the game.
With McNabb gone early, Vegas suddenly had to spread his workload across the remaining defensemen, a tough ask in any playoff game, let alone one where the margin for error on the blue line is razor thin.
Power-Play Exchange Keeps Game On A Knife Edge
The Ducks made the most of the major when Sennecke buried the power-play opener to put Anaheim up 1-0, a continuation of the rookie’s heater, as noted by ClutchPoints. Vegas refused to let the game tilt completely, responding 3:37 later when Dorofeyev jumped on a rebound for a Golden Knights power-play goal that leveled the score, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
On the stat sheet, it looked like a simple trade of power-play goals. On the bench, it felt very different, with Anaheim grabbing an early surge while Vegas scrambled to reset its defensive matchups on the fly.
Golden Knights Lose Their Steady Hand On The Blue Line
McNabb is not just another name on the depth chart. The team has highlighted that he leads the franchise in games played, hits and blocked shots, and he signed a three-year extension in 2024, according to the club’s media release on Vegas Golden Knights. His early exit forced Vegas to lean harder on younger defensemen and stretch its top pairings, a matchup headache late in any playoff game where every shift is choreographed.
In the short term, the Golden Knights have little choice but to juggle minutes and stay out of the box, trying to keep fatigue from becoming the quiet story of the series on their blue line.
Series Stakes And What Comes Next
The series is locked at 2-2 and now heads back to Anaheim for Game 6 on Thursday, May 14, with puck drop scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET, per The Sporting News. Both teams face a quick turnaround and major questions, with Vegas sorting out how to cover for a missing veteran defender and Anaheim eyeing whether its power play can keep tilting momentum.
Game 6 will go a long way toward deciding who grabs control and home-ice leverage for the next stretch of this tightly wound series.
