Andre Lee scores his 1st NHL goal, and the Kings blank the slumping Devils 3-0

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andre Lee scored his first NHL goal, Darcy Kuemper recorded his second shutout of the season and the Los Angeles Kings beat the New Jersey Devils 3-0 on Wednesday for their third straight win.

Quinton Byfield also scored for the Kings, and Adrian Kempe added an empty-netter with 4:25 to play. Kuemper made 32 saves for his 33rd career shutout.

Byfield, who has three goals and five points in the past three games, made it 2-0 at 11:01 of the third period. The forward came out of the penalty box and put a wrist shot past Jake Allen.

Lee opened the scoring 6:23 into the second period when he skated under a puck flung high up the ice by Jordan Spence and split two Devils defensemen to beat Allen. Lee, a 24-year-old Swedish forward drafted in the seventh round in 2019, finally scored in his 19th game after making his NHL debut in Los Angeles' season opener Oct. 10.

Allen stopped 21 shots for New Jersey.

Devils: They're halfway through a six-game road swing, and they've lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season. A day after they fell out of first place in the Eastern Conference, the Devils were shut out for the sixth time.

Kings: Extended their home winning streak to eight games. Los Angeles is 13-2-1 at Crypto.com Arena this season, with its .844 winning percentage being the highest in the league.

Timo Meier appeared to even it for New Jersey in the second period, but his goal was taken off the board when the Kings successfully argued for goaltender interference against Stefan Noesen, who had been in Kuemper’s crease right before Meier scored.

Kopitar picked up his first penalty of the season at 12:01 of the first period. Kopitar, the Lady Byng Trophy winner in 2016 and 2023, was given a two-minute minor for holding Luke Hughes.

Devils visit San Jose on Saturday, and Kings host Tampa Bay.

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

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, right, moves the puck ahead of New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Kings right wing Alex Laferriere, left, skates against New Jersey Devils defenseman Brett Pesce during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

New Jersey Devils left wing Jesper Bratt, right, and Los Angeles Kings left wing Kevin Fiala vie for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper saves a shot from New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper, left, saves a shot from New Jersey Devils left wing Erik Haula during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, January 1, 2024 in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Kyle Burroughs controls the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 in Los Angeles.

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)