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

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trevor Moore scored short-handed, Alex Laferriere got his ninth goal of the season, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Saturday night.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Dmitri Voronkov (10) celebrates after scoring against the Los Angeles Kings with right wing Justin Danforth (17), defenseman Damon Severson (78) and right wing Mathieu Olivier (24) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (84) celebrates scoring a goal with right wing Adrian Kempe (9) and defenseman Mikey Anderson (44) against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

linesman Jonathan Deschamps (80) and linesman Brandon Gawryletz (64) break up a fight between Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Mathieu Olivier (24) and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Andreas Englund (5) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Dmitri Voronkov (10) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Los Angeles Kings with teammates on the bench during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Los Angeles Kings left wing Warren Foegele celebrates scoring a goal with center Akil Thomas (26) and Samuel Helenius, center, against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)