Oilers defeat Kings in Game 2, even Western Conference 1st Round

EDMONTON --Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

The best-of-7 series is tied. Game 3 will be in Los Angeles on Friday.
Derek Ryan and Klim Kostin scored, and Stuart Skinner made 22 saves for Edmonton, the No. 2 seed in the Pacific Division.
Kostin broke a 2-2 tie 2:20 into the third period with a snap shot from the left face-off circle. It was his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal.
"First of all, I was looking for [Draisaitl] actually, I was trying to get the puck in his hands," Kostin said. "I trust him more than myself. But I just saw three guys around me and I had nothing I could do, so I just shot the puck and it went in."

Phillip Danault and Gabriel Vilardi scored, and Joonas Korpisalo made 33 saves for the Kings, the No. 3 seed in the Pacific.
Los Angeles was outshot 11-3 in the first period and did not have its first shot on goal until there was 2:02 remaining.
"I think it was pretty obvious," Vilardi said. "The first period, we can't come out like that. It's tough to climb back when you're down 2-0. We fought back, but we weren't able to come through."
RELATED: [Complete Oilers vs. Kings series coverage]
Ryan gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 2:34 of the first. A shot by Draisaitl hit Ryan's stick, then went off the end boards and came right to Ryan in front.
Draisaitl scored a power-play goal at 12:06, one-timing a cross-ice pass from Connor McDavid to make it 2-0. He has five points (three goals, two assists) in the series.
"I think he's been the best player on the ice through two games in the series by far," Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. "He found a way to get things done in different ways, and it was a big reason we won the game tonight."

Danault got the Kings within 2-1 at 14:38 of the second period, scoring on his own rebound.
"We had momentum in the second and third," he said. " ... We didn't panic, but we definitely need a better start. I thought the character was there again and we came back again."
Vilardi tied it 2-2, tucking the puck past Skinner's right skate at 19:16. It was his first game back since missing Game 1 and the final nine games of the regular season because of an upper-body injury.
"It's bittersweet," Vilardi said. "It doesn't feel as good [in a loss], but it's nice to get one and we're on to Friday."

Evander Kane scored an empty-net goal with 23 seconds remaining in the third for the 4-2 final.
"For us, we have a team that I thought played a really good hockey game today, say for maybe a few minutes in the second period we would have liked to have back," Woodcroft said. "… I thought we controlled the bulk of the play, in both games."
The Oilers allowed the Kings to come back from down two goals for the second straight game. Edmonton had leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in an eventual 4-3 overtime loss in Game 1 on Monday.
"We don't want it to happen every game " Draisaitl said. "But these situations happen in playoffs, the momentum swings seem to be a lot bigger, a lot more dramatic and up and down than in the regular season. … Get back out there and get back on our game and do it the right way."
NOTES:Edmonton forward Mattias Janmark (undisclosed) did not play after blocking a shot in Game 1. The Oilers played 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Philip Broberg drawing into the lineup. … The assist was McDavid's first point of the series after leading the NHL in goals (64), assists (89) and points (153) during the regular season. … Skinner became the third rookie goalie in Oilers history to win a playoff game, joining Andy Moog (1981) and Grant Fuhr (1982).