Golden Knights Video Coach The True Star Of Game 5

Vegas Golden Knights players celebrate after the Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in overtime in game five of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Vegas Golden Knights forwards Jack Eichel and Mark Stone finally introduced themselves into the series in Game 5, but the true headliner was video assistant coach Dave Rogowski detecting a possible offside on a Minnesota Wild goal.

With just over a minute remaining in regulation, Ryan Hartman went in on a rush, beating Alex Pietrangelo and Ivan Barbashev to score the go-ahead goal. The NHL immediately reviewed the goal for a kicking motion but determined there was no kick. The time it took to review the goal allowed Rogowski and the Golden Knights to determine it was worth a shot to challenge the goal for offside.

Fortunately for the Golden Knights, Gustav Nyquist entered the zone a fraction too early, causing the goal to be erased and allowing the game to head to overtime. Brett Howden scored his third of the series 4:05 into the overtime frame to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 series lead.

Following the game, all the talk was about Rogowski.

"He's looking at it, he shows you one angle and says you should challenge it. He gives us a recommendation of percentage-wise," said HC Bruce Cassidy. "I mean, there's a minute left in the game, you're probably going to challenge no matter how close it is unless it's blatantly onside... It was a great pickup by him and it saved our ass."

The nerves were high on the bench after the Wild thought they had scored, as it appeared the Golden Knights would be heading back to Minnesota for Game 6 with their season on the line. Similarly, to every player or coach, the process quickly began for Rogowski after the goal was scored.

"Our video coach, Rogo, he's looking at probably both things, but then he realizes they're going to look at the kicking motion," said Cassidy. "That's a league rule. There are certain things that get looked at no matter what. So now he's looking at if there's goaltender interference and then goes back to the offside."

If the Golden Knights had lost the challenge, they would have been given a minor penalty, likely diminishing any possibility of mounting a comeback. Everyone on the staff agreed that it was that the probability of the goal being called back was 100%.

Stanley Cups aren't won because of one player or person in the organization. It's a group effort that requires every person to do their job to the best of their ability. The Golden Knights displayed that perfectly in their Tuesday night Game 5 victory.

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