Fireworks explode after an NHL outdoor hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Los Angeles. The Ducks won 3-0. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES – The players put on their skate guards in the baseball clubhouses Saturday night, then made the long walk around Dodger Stadium – through the basement, behind the bullpens, underneath the outfield grandstands.

The Los Angeles Kings came from one side, the Anaheim Ducks from the other, listening to the roar of the crowd and the music of KISS. “I … wanna rock ’n’ roll all niiight … and party ev-er-y day.”

They met in the middle and sat down on benches directly across from each other. Some sneaked peeks at their opponents. Others looked down, trying to stay focused. Ducks defenseman Ben Lovejoy said it felt like the movie “Gladiator,” when the men wait in the shadows of the thundering coliseum, unsure of exactly what awaits them.

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And then it was time. The USC band marched out. Legendary Dodgers voice Vin Scully introduced the teams as the crowd roared louder. The players walked between palm trees, side by side, down the middle of centerfield. A beach volleyball court was on their right, the KISS stage on their left. The ice was dead ahead.

“We felt like rock stars,” Lovejoy said. “We’re not. We’re simple hockey players. But for one night, that was so cool.”

If you’re high and mighty about The Game, this wasn’t for you. The sightlines were bad, as they are in baseball stadiums. The surroundings were more of a circus than ever before. A red carpet with celebrities? An inline skating rink? Extras riding skateboards, peddling bikes and playing with beach balls between periods? It was hokey, not hockey.

But if you take this for what it was – show business, Hollywood, entertainment in Tinseltown, a celebration of the growth of hockey in Southern California – it was astounding and outstanding. It was what a circus is supposed to be: fun. The stands were packed. The NHL announced a sellout crowd of 54,099 – a not-so-subtle nod to Wayne Gretzky, the man who helped make hockey hot in L.A. No. 99 dropped the ceremonial first puck.

And you know what? For all the worry about holding the first outdoor regular-season game in a warm-weather venue, the ice was pretty good, and so was the game – a 3-0 victory for Anaheim, the top team in the league. Though the ice was a little slow and the players were a little hot at times with the temperature about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, there was skating and passing. There was a penalty shot. There was a fight.

It would have been a beautiful night for baseball. It turned out to be a great night for hockey – frankly far better from a quality of play and comfort standpoint than the cold, snowy, but more romantic Winter Classic outside Detroit on New Year’s Day.

“I don’t know how those games have been when it’s below 30 or 20, but this was so much fun,” said Ducks star Teemu Selanne. “There’s not one negative thing you can say about this. It was unbelievable.”

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We say it every outdoor game: That was surreal. We say it so often that surreal doesn’t feel surreal anymore. A hockey game in an iconic football or baseball stadium? Been there, done that. If not here, then somewhere.

But this was surreal in its own way. This was L.A. The NHL laid out a red carpet in a VIP club area before the game, and out walked one of the most bizarre mixes of movie stars, TV stars and sports stars you’ve ever seen.

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