Player Grades: Kostin leads Edmonton Oilers in thumping 4-2 victory over the L.A. Kings

Derek Ryan (10) of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates his first period goal against the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Place in Edmonton on April 19, 2023. Photo by Shaughn Butts /Postmedia

The Edmonton Oilers earned a 2-0 lead, let the L.A. Kings back in the game, but were saved by an hard outside shot by Klim Kostin early in the third period, the winning goal in a 4-2 game.

In total, the Grade A shots (25 per centers) were 16 for Edmonton, six for Los Angeles, with the subset of 5-alarm shots (33 per cent+) seven for the Oilers, four for the Kings.

Connor McDavid, 7. He came out humming on the PK, using his speed to create a 2-on-1 out of zilch, setting up Kane for a 5-alarmer. Ripped a cross-ice pass on Draisaitl’s goal. He blasted Doughty with a hard hit late in the first. He slammed a hard wrister on net on a 2-on-1 early in the second. He charged hard for a Grade A shot early in the third, but Korpisalo was again up to the test. McD kept a clean sheet at even strength, not one mistake on a Grade A shot against, while chipping in three for at even strength, two for on the power play and one for on the penalty kill, as seen in his Grade A Shots (Gas) totals. GAS: +3,0 ES (even strength), +3,0 ST (special teams)

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 7. Improved over the first game. He got a 5-alarm tip early on, but Korpisalo got a pad on it. He grabbed Doughty and took a bad penalty in the second. He lashed a shot on net late in the second off a Hyman rebound. GAS: +4,0 ES, 0,-1 ST

Zach Hyman, 6. He threw two hellacious hits, first on Carl Grundstrom, then on Blake Lizotte late in the first. He battled hard late in the third on the forecheck and got off a Grade A shot. GAS: +2,0 ES, +1,0 ST

Leon Draisaitl, 8. He came on like he was fired from the world’s biggest gun and had a whale of the game, with just one blemish, though a major one. One goal, two assists, and he led the team with eight major contributions to Grade A shots. To kick off, he rushed the puck up ice and made a snazzy move to the inside to beat Grundstrom, before unleashing a shot, with Ryan cashing in the rebound off the boards for Edmonton’s first goal just under three minutes into the game. Drai followed up right away with another great shift with the fourth line, setting up Kostin for a great chance. But he took an ill-advised slashing penalty on Kempe. He then set up RNH for a 5-alarm tip. And he scored the 2-0 goal, lashing in his trademark Executioner’s Shot on the power play. Next he held and held and held the puck in the o-zone, then set up an Ekholm 5-alarm shot in the second. But his lost puck battle and fly-by kicked off the Sequence of Pain on the first L.A. goal, earning Drai a rebuke from Sportsnet commentator Kevin Bieksa. Early in the third, he redeemed himself, winning a n-zone board battle to help send in Kostin on his goal. He won the battle leading up to Kane’s empty-netter. GAS: +6,-2 ES, +2,0 ST

Evander Kane, 7. He failed to drain a sweet pass and 5-alarm shot on the PK early on. He blasted Doughty with a hit early in the second. He dumped Sean Durzi with a hard hit also in the second. But he batted a puck out of the air and out of the rink, taking a costly late penalty in the second. He jammed away hard on a McD shot half-way through the third but could not score. He drained the empty-netter. GAS: +2,0 ES, +1,0 ST

Kailer Yamamoto, 4. Quiet game. Not yet finding a way to break through, but no major mistakes. GAS: 0,0 ES, 0,0 ST

Nick Bjugstad, 6. He slammed a hard shot on net off a Foegele rush early in the second. Solid play overall. He won 10 of 13 face-offs. GAS: 0,0 ES, 0,-1 ST

Klim Kostin, 9. Great game from the big tough Russian winger, with plenty of nasty hits and the biggest goal of the year to date. He threw the first nasty hit of the game, wiping out Arthur Kaliyev, then a bit later thrashed a wicked wrister off the post. He took a hard outside shot on net early in the third and it somehow beat Korpisalo. He tied with Drai for team lead in hits for a forward with five. GAS: +2,0 ES, 0,0 ST

Warren Foegele, 6. Solid play in both directions. He took the puck hard to the net on a dangerous attacking play early in the second. GAS: +1,-1 ES, 0,0 ST

Ryan McLeod, 6. He skated hard and was strong with the puck. GAS: 0,0 ES, 0,0 ST

Derek Ryan, 7. Went hard to the net and cashed in the rebound off Draisaitl’s shot for Edmonton’s first goal, fooling the goalie partly because he fanned on the shot. Puck luck is real, my friends. Was solid rest of ther way. GAS: +2,0 ES, 0,0 ST

Darnell Nurse, 7. Strong game, moving the puck well and defending aggressively. He played 26:23. He led the tam with six blocked shots. His stick check ignited the rush up ice on Edmonton’s first goal. He made a fine pass to kick off another 5-alarm rush a short time later. He thwarted a Kupari slot chance with a solid stickcheck in the second. But he misread the play and allowed a Kupari breakaway late in the second. GAS: +2,-3 ES, 0,0 ST

Cody Ceci, 6. Steady as she goes. He made a solid pick to free up space for a Drai Grade A early in the second. His pokecheck ended a Kings possession on a second period L.A. power play. GAS: +1,-2 ES, 0,0 ST

Mattias Ekholm, 7. Solid game as well. He led the team with nine hits. He failed to drain a slot pass from Draisaitl in the second. He forcefully stopped Trevor Moore in the slot on a second period Kings power play. He slammed Arvidsson on a second period pinch. He allowed the slot pass to Danault on his goal in the second. GAS: +1,-2 ES, 0,0 ST

Evan Bouchard, 7. Moved the puck well and solid on defence when it counted. He made a fine pass to get the puck moving on Draisaitl’s first period power play goal. He drilled a couple of hard outside shots on net in the second. He broke up a 2-on-1 rush in the second with solid positioning. GAS: +1,-2 ES, +1,0 ST

Brett Kulak, 7. He was Cooooool-ak this game, with plenty of calm, smart plays with the puck. GAS: 0,-1 ES, 0,0 ST

Vincent Desharnais, 5. He made a solid take-out of a hard-charging Rasmus Kupari in the first. His n-zone turnover kicked off the Sequence of Pain on the second L.A goal. But he acted as a major cycle buster on an extended Kings attack in the Oil zone in the third. He got 15:29 of ice. GAS: 0,0 ES, 0,0 ST

Philip Broberg, 5. He played just 4:39 but was +2 so that’s something. Looked OK when he did take the ice. GAS: 0,0 ES, 0,0 ST

Stuart Skinner, 6. He only faced six Grade A shots and he let in two, one of them not so fine, but he made saves down the stretch. He had little to do in the first, except stop a Kopitar wrap-around in the last minute. He stopped Danault’s first shot but could not get his glove on the rebound for the first L.A. goal. He failed to seal off the post on Vilardi’s goal late in the second. He got saved by the post on Kupari’s break late in the second. He stopped a Grade A from the dread Kempe early in the third. His first playoff win, may there be plenty more.