NHL

Columbus Blue Jackets at Los Angeles Kings

· National Hockey League

Kings shake off slow start to beat Blue Jackets 5-2

Alex Laferriere lights the lamp

Los Angeles is 4-1-1 over its past six games. That is also the Kings’ mark on home ice to start the season, picking up where they left off after posting the league’s best record following the All-Star break in 2023-24.

The Kings overcame a sluggish first period, falling behind on Dmitri Voronkov’s goal, before they took charge with Vladislav Gavrikov’s shot through several screens and Warren Foegele’s finish off the rush 1:56 apart in the second.

Ivan Provorov had a power-play goal for the Blue Jackets, who have lost four straight, with three of those defeats coming in regulation. It was their first loss in five games when leading after the first period this season.

Brandt Clarke added an empty-netter in the final minute for Los Angeles, and David Rittich had 24 saves.

Takeaways Blue Jackets: The offense has dried up for Columbus, scoring nine goals over their past five games. They had averaged 4.13 goals over their first eight games.

Kings: Samuel Helenius, a 2021 second-round pick, made his NHL debut and got his first career point with the secondary assist on Foegele’s goal.

Key moment Laferriere tipped Joel Edmundson's shot in at 7:05 of the third, giving Los Angeles the insurance goal it had struggled to create earlier in the year.

Key stat After picking up three more tonight, the Kings have scored 27 goals in the third period, continuing their knack for getting going as games go on. They have scored 11 in the first and 16 in the second.

Up Next The Blue Jackets visit Anaheim on Sunday, and Kings visit Calgary on Monday.

Regular Season Series

LA leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 13:26 Dmitri Voronkov Goal (1) Tip-In, assists: Justin Danforth (3)
Goal 2nd Period 4:16 Vladislav Gavrikov Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: Adrian Kempe (8), Anze Kopitar (11)
Goal 2nd Period 6:12 Warren Foegele Goal (6) Wrist Shot, assists: Akil Thomas (1), Samuel Helenius (1)
Goal 3rd Period 0:30 Trevor Moore Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: Phillip Danault (8)
Goal 3rd Period 0:49 Ivan Provorov Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Justin Danforth (4), Adam Fantilli (4)
Goal 3rd Period 7:05 Alex Laferriere Goal (9) Tip-In, assists: Joel Edmundson (3), Warren Foegele (3)
Goal 3rd Period 19:29 Brandt Clarke Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Anze Kopitar (12), Adrian Kempe (9)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/cbj.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCBJ https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/la.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLA
12 Blocked Shots 22
16 Hits 8
4 Takeaways 5
26 Shots 23
1 Power Play Goals 1
3 Power Play Opportunities 4
33.3 Power Play Percentage 25.0
0 Short Handed Goals 1
0 Shootout Goals 0
25 Faceoffs Won 33
43.1 Faceoff Win Percent 56.9
10 Giveaways 14
5 Total Penalties 4
13 Penalty Minutes 11

Game Information

crypto.com Arena

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 18,145 | Capacity:

2024-25 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
New Jersey 11 6 24 2
Carolina 11 4 22 0
Washington 10 4 21 1
NY Rangers 9 4 19 1
NY Islanders 6 6 16 4
Pittsburgh 6 9 15 3
Philadelphia 6 8 14 2
Columbus 5 8 12 2

2024-25 Pacific Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Vegas 10 4 22 2
Los Angeles 9 6 21 3
Vancouver 8 3 19 3
Calgary 8 6 19 3
Edmonton 8 7 17 1
Seattle 7 8 15 1
San Jose 5 9 13 3
Anaheim 5 8 12 2
Full Standings