One week ago, only one percent of ESPN Fantasy Hockey rosters held Pavel Dorofeyev. Sunday morning that number had ballooned to 11.9 percent. Dorofeyev is one of the hottest stocks in hockey both on the real ice and the make believe.
The 24-year-old has seven goals and 10 points through 12 games which ranks as ESPN’s 21st best fantasy points total. On the ice he’s been a key cog as the Vegas Golden Knights have surged to an 8-3-1 record for top spot in the Pacific Division and third overall in the NHL.
Scoring was supposed to be a major concern for Vegas this season after the departure of four every day forwards from last season’s team. Instead, Vegas leads the NHL in goals scored with 54 and second in goals per game with 4.50.
This season’s version of the power play is the best Vegas has deployed over parts of eight NHL seasons and Dorofeyev has scored three of the team’s 10 man advantage goals.
Wingers Brett Howden and Dorofeyev have found chemistry with Vegas center Tomas Hertl creating a line with power, touch and execution.
Howden is thriving with added opportunity while Dorofeyev is coming into his own as a dangerous man in the NHL. Empowered with a hammer of a shot and the ability to find open space, Dorofeyev has proven to be the perfect complement to Hertl’s vision and passing panache.
Howden lugs the easel while Hertl and Dorofeyev put paint to canvas.
Saturday night vs. the Utah Hockey Club, trailing 2-0 in the middle period Vegas needed a boost and the Hertl trio provided a masterpiece.
Howden backtracked and kept a puck in the offensive zone before zipping it to an open Hertl who then fired a pass across the crease to a waiting Dorofeyev who wired a shot into the Utah net.
