LOS ANGELES (AP) — Quinn Hughes had a goal and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks overcame the loss of top scorer Brock Boeser to beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Thursday night.
Boeser, who scored a career-high 40 goals last season and leads Vancouver with six goals this year, did not return after taking an illegal check to the head from Kings forward Tanner Jeannot.
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Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper, right, blocks a shot by Vancouver Canucks right wing Conor Garland as Los Angeles Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson (44) watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Los Angeles Kings center Trevor Lewis (61) jumps out of the way of a shot on goal in front of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Vincent Desharnais, left, as Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (32) looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson, center, is helped off the ice by Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) after he was hit in the head with the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Vancouver Canucks left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) in congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes handles the puck in front of Los Angeles Kings right wing Adrian Kempe (9) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Conor Garland scored on the subsequent five-minute power play after Jeannot received a match penalty, tying the score at 1. Jake DeBrusk and J.T. Miller also scored, and Kevin Lankinen made 25 saves.
Quinton Byfield and Vladislav Gavrikov scored for Los Angeles, and Darcy Kuemper finished with 19 saves.
Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson also left the game because of injury. He was cut badly after taking Filip Hronek’s shot to the face late in the second period.
Canucks: If Boeser is out for any length of time, it would be terribly damaging to Vancouver’s hopes of reaching the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2011-12 and 2012-13.
Kings: Byfield scored for the second straight game after failing to find the net through the 13 opening contests to start the season.
Hughes showed off some fancy footwork to create separation, allowing him to fire a shot from distance that gave the Canucks a 3-1 lead early in the third period.
Hughes has a goal and five assists in his past three games, and his 14 points puts him third among defensemen behind Colorado’s Cale Makar (25) and Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey (16).
The Canucks face the Oilers on Saturday to start a six-game homestand, and the Kings host the Blue Jackets.
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Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper, right, blocks a shot by Vancouver Canucks right wing Conor Garland as Los Angeles Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson (44) watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Los Angeles Kings center Trevor Lewis (61) jumps out of the way of a shot on goal in front of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Vincent Desharnais, left, as Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (32) looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson, center, is helped off the ice by Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) after he was hit in the head with the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Vancouver Canucks left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) in congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes handles the puck in front of Los Angeles Kings right wing Adrian Kempe (9) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The highly decorated Army soldier inside the Tesla Cybertruck that burst into flames outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel shot himself in the head before the explosion and likely planned to cause more damage but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force from the rudimentary explosive, officials said Thursday.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference that a handgun was found at the feet of the man in the driver's seat, who officials believe is Matthew Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado. The shot appeared to be self-inflicted, officials said.
Damage from the blast was mostly limited to the interior of the truck. The explosion “vented out and up” and didn’t hit the Trump hotel doors just a few feet away, the sheriff said.
“The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience,” said Kenny Cooper, a special agent in charge for the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Among other charred items found inside the truck were a second firearm, a number of fireworks, a passport, a military ID, credit cards, an iPhone and a smartwatch, McMahill said. Authorities said both guns were purchased legally.
Investigators have not definitively identified the remains as Livelsberger, but the IDs and tattoos on the body “give a strong indication that it’s him,” the sheriff said.
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.
He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.
McMahill said Livelsberger rented the Tesla electric vehicle in Denver on Saturday and the sheriff displayed a map showing that it was charged in the Colorado town of Monument near Colorado Springs on Monday. On New Year’s Eve, it was charged in Trinidad, Colorado, and the towns of Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Gallup in New Mexico, along the Interstate 40 corridor.
Then on Wednesday, the day of the explosion, it was charged in the Arizona towns of Holbrook, Flagstaff and Kingman before video showed it on the Las Vegas Strip about 7:30 a.m.
The FBI said Thursday in a post on X that it was “conducting law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday's explosion but provided no other details.
The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack. The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.
Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one of the officials who spoke to the AP said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.
Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.
Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded. Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself."
"All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk wrote.
Musk has recently become a member of Trump’s inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk was in Las Vegas early Wednesday. Both had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida estate.
Copp, Richer and Long contributed from Washington. Associated Press writers Rio Yamat and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.
Investigators search a townhouse in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Parker Seibold /The Gazette via AP)
Investigators search a townhouse in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Parker Seibold /The Gazette via AP)
Investigators search the garbage outside of a townhouse in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Parker Seibold /The Gazette via AP)
Investigators enter a townhouse in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)
Investigators stand outside a townhouse complex in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
