Steve Carell, Justin Bieber headline Los Angeles charity hockey game: ‘These guys were ready’

LOS ANGELES — Playing in a charity hockey game hosted by the LA Kings on Sunday, Justin Bieber took it upon himself to drop the gloves against a former NHL player.

“I can say I got beat up by Justin Bieber,” said Jeremy Roenick, a recent inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame. “That’s a great day.”

The “fight” they had saw Bieber, a noted hockey enthusiast and proud Toronto Maple Leafs fan, pull Roenick’s jersey over the veteran’s head in a tussle following a goal by Roenick. It was one of numerous lighthearted moments that came out of an event at Crypto.com Arena to raise money and support recovery efforts for the January wildfires that destroyed neighborhoods throughout suburban Los Angeles, including Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

Skate For LA Strong recognized the first responders who fought the destructive fires, with the Palisades and Eaton blazes claiming 29 lives and burning an estimated 16,200 structures. Those responders and their families were the honored attendees for Sunday’s charity games, with four teams comprised of celebrities, firefighters, NHL alumni and other personalities in competition.

It was a motley crew of individuals coming together. Former MLB catcher Joe Mauer, a Minnesota native and resident who gravitated to baseball and basketball instead, played on ponds but went away from organized hockey when the family saw how expensive it was for his older brother to play. “I never thought I had to leave Minnesota to play a hockey game,” Mauer joked. “Here we are.”

There was no viral moment like at the 2017 NHL All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, when Bieber was driven into the glass by Chris Pronger, complete with a perfectly captured photo of Bieber being smushed by the legendary defenseman, proudly wearing a devilish smile. But on Sunday, Bieber did get a drop pass from Jeff Carter and attempted a toe-drag move, only to be denied by Billy Blase, a 37-year-old Santa Monica native who played in the U.S. National Team Development Program and for Yale.

Steve Carell, a goalie in college before he gained fame on “The Office,” was playing defense — and not all that detailed — on this afternoon for Team Black. Actor Taylor Kitsch showed off his hockey skills from his days of Junior A play in the BCHL by scoring a neat goal for Team Blue. Danny DeVito was one of the guest coaches and cracked off one-liners.

“We’re going full bore on these guys,” DeVito spoke of his pregame message for Team Blue. “I want to see chiclets.” And of an early shift change, the diminutive star of “Taxi,” “Batman Returns” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” quipped, “That line wants to lie down.”

“Stay at home,” Will Ferrell, noted Kings fan and season-ticket holder, barked out to his Team Black players during the game. “Stay at home. I don’t know what that means. But stay at home.”

Manon Rhéaume, twice a world champion goalie for Canada who once played in two exhibition games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, wanted no part of the net.

“Especially in a game like this,” Rhéaume said, smiling. “Nobody can play defense.”

Levity and fun were the order of the day.

“I know a lot of people that have lost their homes,” said David Boreanaz, Philadelphia Flyers fan and star of “Bones” and “SEAL Team.” “In speaking with them, it doesn’t stop. The grief doesn’t stop, and it stays with them. And this is an opportunity to shed some grief for them, give some healing for them.”

Team Red, with actors Vince Vaughn and Cobie Smulders running the bench, was the last team standing as it won both of its games in shutout fashion. Vaughn threw credit Smulders’ way in jest, saying the “How I Met Your Mother” star and member of the Marvel Universe was “doing the little things. Day in and day out. You see it on the ice.” Smulders and her husband, actor Taran Killam, lost their home in the Palisades.

The competitive element that fueled the former NHL players in their careers quickly bubbled to the surface. Vaughn didn’t have to channel Peter La Fleur, his “Dodgeball” character, to provide inspiration for a ragtag group.

“These guys were ready,” Vaughn said. “I said, ‘Just don’t get content. There’s one more to go.’ And I didn’t have to say anything. These guys were off the leash and ready. I felt bad for the other team at some point.”

Roenick, with tongue in cheek, chimed in, “We were a well-oiled machine today. There’s no question about it.”

But there was a serious element that couldn’t be ignored. The Kings were the first Los Angeles sports team to be directly impacted as their scheduled Jan. 8 home game against the Calgary Flames was postponed. The Los Angeles Rams had to relocate to State Farm Stadium in Phoenix — the home of the Arizona Cardinals — to play their first-round NFL playoff game. The NBA’s Lakers and Clippers also had to move home contests.

The Kings helped lead the way in recovery efforts. Their practice facility in El Segundo became a donation center. Team president Luc Robitaille worked with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on arranging the charity game. Teams throughout the league made donations through 50-50 ticket sales at their home games.

“I remember talking to Craig Conroy, who’s the GM in Calgary,” Robitaille said. “No one hesitated. We knew we had to cancel the game and move on. And then we saw how it just seemed to get bigger and bigger for the next few days.

“Those are things that happen and there’s things that are much more important. Even though we love our game and it’s our job and everything, it was way above anything that we’ve ever seen.”

Jason Northgrave, a firefighter based out of El Segundo, was on the front lines of the Palisades blaze. Hockey is in Northgrave’s blood. A native of London, Ont., who counts himself a lifelong Maple Leafs fan, he cherished moments such as meeting Rob Blake, the Hall of Fame defenseman and current Kings general manager, or Dion Phaneuf skating with him and his son. He reveled in hearing the “game plan” from coaches Ferrell and Snoop Dogg.

“For me today, growing up a hockey fan and being here getting to play with some guys that I grew up watching, it’s amazing,” Northgrave said. “And having the celebrities here too to come out and show their love and support means a lot.”

(Top photo of Jeremy Roenick and Justin Bieber: Bailey Holiver / NHLI via Getty Images)