BLOG: Kostin's legend in Oil Country grows

EDMONTON, AB- Klim Kostin was made to play in Oil Country on a stage like this.
Equally so, Oil Country was built to embrace a player like him.
"You guys can't imagine how proud I am to be in the team," Kostin said to the crowd at Rogers Place after Wednesday's win during a walk-off interview with Oilers TV's Paige Martin.
"Playing for you guys, it's amazing."
The 23-year-old Russian, playing in his second-career Stanley Cup Playoff game, tossed the body with five hits as an imposing physical presence and scored the biggest goal of his young career as a critical depth contributor, lifting the Oilers into a 3-2 lead with 2:20 gone in the third period in Game 2 of Edmonton's first-round series with Los Angeles.
"He's been a good player through both games -- big, physical and works his butt off on the forecheck and on the track," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "That goal, you've seen it all year. He has a very good shot and he's not afraid to shoot through people. Tonight he did and found a spot and I think helped their team settle in."

Kostin carried the puck over the blueline after Leon Draisaitl stripped the puck from Arthur Kaliyev in the neutral zone before ripping a far-side shot over the left pad of Kings netminder Joonas Korpisalo, putting Edmonton ahead for good with the eventual game-winner in the final frame's early stages.
"First of all, I was just like looking for Leo, actually," Kostin said. "I'm just trying to put] the puck in his hands. I trust him more than myself, but I saw three guys around me and I had nothing to do. I just shot the puck and then it went in."
What the goal might've lacked a little bit in flash, Kostin made up for it with the celebration.
The Pensa, RUS product's signature 'Are you not entertained?!' celebration came out for the first time in the playoffs in Game 2 after he lit the lamp 11 times in 57 regular-season games for the Oilers following his October acquisition from the St. Louis Blues.
The shrewd move by Oilers GM & President of Hockey Operations Ken Holland to add the Russian to the fold before the start of the season has seemingly unearthed a new gem of a fan favourite in Oil Country who's **[embracing his new home** and is more than capable of helping contribute depth scoring, a hard-nosed game and some heartfelt interactions with his fresh fanbase along the way.

"If you go on a long run, everybody's going to have their moment," Zach Hyman said. "Everybody's going to be the hero of the game or whatnot, so a huge game from [depth scorers] and a huge goal from Klim at the end to give us the win."
After the game inside the Oilers Hall of Fame Room for his post-game availability alongside Draisaitl, it wasn't easy for Kostin to find the words to describe how amazing it is to be an Edmonton Oiler and contribute to the craziness that is Oil Country in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
As the onlooking sea of Blue & Orange under Ford Hall chanted his name, he couldn't help but pull his eyes back to the crowd in amazed bewilderment at the madness on the other side of the glass.
"It's just insane. I have nothing to say. It's hard to explain," he said. "It's really special to play here, to play in front of those guys. The fans are just insane."

Kostin was one of four Oilers to record five hits in Game 2 that includes Leon Draisaitl, who formed a solid connection with Kostin and Derek Ryan in a regular 11-and-7 assembly for Woodcroft that accounted for three of the Oilers four goals.
"I think we took advantage of a couple of situations," Draisaitl said. "They're two really good hockey players. They're going to make it easy. So yeah, I think we clicked and we connected on a couple of goals. Some really good plays by those two, so that was fun."
The German has been "the best player on the ice" through the first two games of the series says Coach Woodcroft, but the depth rose at the right time for the Oilers in Game 2, culminating in Kostin's goal and Ryan's opening tally when the top talent like Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman had considerably quiet nights offensively.
"I think you need that. You're not going to win 16 games by your top two lines scoring every goal and doing everything," Draisaitl said. "You need guys like Kimmer, you need guys like Derek Ryan, that are going to chip in every once in a while and I think all year we've been really lucky at finding those guys and having those guys on our team."