The Pavel Dorofeyev experience has been an interesting ride to start the season, and the third period of Thursday's comeback win over the Flyers can hopefully serve as a meaningful turning point.
Heading into Thursday's action, Dorofeyev was quietly in the midst of a productive stretch with six points in his previous eight games, including a five-game point streak that was snapped against the St. Louis Blues. Yet despite putting up points, the outside expectation remains for him to produce even more... specifically in the goal column. The Rangers acquired him to be a primary driver of offense, and thus far, the actual finishing results haven't fully matched the expected metrics.
Looking to shake things up, head coach Mike Sullivan demoted Dorofeyev from the top line and held him off the ice for the first 4:50 of the third period. Sullivan was hunting for a spark after a flat second period, and Dorofeyev answered the call emphatically, burying a blistering power-play snap shot to tie the game at two.
After the game, Sullivan went into greater detail about the coaching process with Dorofeyev, emphasizing that building comfort with a new system simply takes time. As a way of gaining extra perspective, Sullivan reached out to someone who knows Dorofeyev’s game firsthand: former Blueshirts bench boss John Tortorella, who took over the Golden Knights late last season and coached Dorofeyev all the way to the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.
Via Mollie Walker of the New York Post:
"He's tried to offer me some insight on some of the things that he did when he was coaching him that he felt helped Pav move in the right direction. I'm trying to utilize some of those insights, and it's a work in progress. My experience has been when a player changes teams like that, signs a fairly decent contract, sometimes there's a little bit of an adjustment process that players go through...I think Pav is going through that process with us right now, trying to figure out we're a different team than what he was on. He's playing with different players."
Tortorella’s stint behind the Vegas bench was brief, but taking that group to Game 6 of the Final gives him acute, first-hand knowledge of how to unlock Dorofeyev's game when the stakes are highest. Dorofeyev scored 12 goals during that run, and that's something that wasn't just accomplished on the backs of his linemates.
Dorofeyev is an undeniably gifted shooter, and his third period snipe was another showcase of his release. Much has been made of how many goalposts Dorofeyev has rattled this season, and that alone is a telling data point. Missing by a fraction of an inch rather than sailing pucks high or wide proves his process is sound as he is consistently finding openings to get pucks on goal.
PAV SNIPES IT 🎯 pic.twitter.com/o6glYlkKfG
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 6, 2026
Joining a new team always comes with some growing pains. When Sullivan pointed out that New York is a different club with different personnel than what Dorofeyev had in Vegas, it is simply a realistic evaluation of the transition. Dorofeyev is still learning the tendencies of his new New York linemates. Finding that balance requires patience, and it is notable that he has kept an even balance between scoring and distributing.
The upcoming four-game road trip through Seattle and Western Canada will be a vital test, and the hope is that Dorofeyev can carry this momentum forward. He has taken the lineup adjustments in stride, and the underlying analytics suggest an offensive explosion is right around the corner.
#NYR Pavel Dorofeyev on how big a relief it was to score a big goal:
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) November 6, 2026
"Yeah, it obviously helps...I just gotta keep focusing on my game. Trying again and again. Hopefully, it's going to come, like post and in, at some point (smile)."
Dorofeyev is playing significantly better than his 36.01% on-ice goals-for percentage (GF%) via Evolving Hockey indicates. His true play is much closer to his 54.95% expected goals-for (xGF%) and 50.32% Corsi (CF%). Even with some tough finishing luck, he remains tied for third on the roster with five goals and sits sixth in team scoring with 10 points.
New York can be a demanding media market, and many marquee acquisitions have stumbled far harder out of the gate. The key is to keep chipping away, and that is exactly what Dorofeyev will look to do on the road.
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