Klim Kostin broke a tie at 2:20 of the third period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Wednesday night in Game 2 to tie the first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists to help Edmonton bounce back from a 4-3 overtime loss in the opener. Derek Ryan and Evander Kane, to empty net, also scored for the Oilers.
Evan Bouchard (2), Zach Hyman (18), Leon Draisaitl (29) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) of the Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the first period of Game 2 of a Stanley Cup hockey game in the NHL first -playoff series on Wednesday April 19, 2023 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
«In both games, I thought we controlled most of the game,» Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. «In both games, we had a couple of minutes that we’d like to get back.»
STARS EVEN SERIES WITH WILD IN GAME 2 VICTORY BEHIND ROOPE HINTZ HAT TRICK
NHL scoring champion Connor McDavid had an assist and Stuart Skinner made 23 saves in his first NHL playoff win.
Joonas Korpisalo stopped 33 shots for Los Angeles. Gabriel Vilardi and Philip Danault scored for the Kings. Vilardi returned after missing the last nine games of the regular season and the first game of the series due to a lower body injury.
Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
Evan Bouchard (2), Zach Hyman (18), Leon Draisaitl (29) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) of the Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the first period of Game 2 of a Stanley Cup hockey game in the NHL first -playoff series on Wednesday April 19, 2023 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings have been outplayed for significant stretches of both games and have been terrible in the early quarters. On Wednesday, they managed just three shots on goal in the opening frame.
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«The first 20 (minutes), it wasn’t good. The next 40 were pretty good,» Danault said. «Actually, we played pretty good hockey and it seemed like the game was slower. It was a good 40 minutes overall, but we have to play 60.»
On the go-ahead goal, Draisaitl’s control in the neutral zone over Arthur Kaliyev along the backboards forced Kostin to fumble to kick the puck in the zone and send a shot across to Korpisalo.
Edmonton took a 2-0 lead in the first period and Los Angeles struck twice in the second.
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74), Leon Draisaitl (29) and Brett Kulak (27) celebrate the team’s 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 2 in a first-round playoff series from the NHL Hockey Stanley Cup on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
«We came out flat in the first half, but we played a game,» said Vilardi. «Obviously Korpi was a big factor in that. But we have to put together a solid 60 minutes. We haven’t played very well for most of the game.»
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The focus for the Kings is to be good from the opening matchup of Game 3. They can’t afford to fall behind 2-0 again. They can’t just expect their netminder to keep them in the game.
«We need a better start, but the character was there,» Danault said. «We’re back again. We’ve shown that we can do that. Now, we have to go the other way.»
«We can do better than that. We can get the lead, maybe. We don’t always have to catch somebody.»