Getting up off the mat took on two meanings for the Kings.
Frustrated and irritable from a string of losses, they were perfectly willing to take out those aggressions against the Ducks on Saturday night. But that came to a literal halt when Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa delivered an incredible knockout blow to Andy Andreoff on the first punch of their opening-period tussle.
Andreoff never returned. But the Kings did.
Down a goal with 92 seconds remaining against the vulnerable and depleted Ducks, the Kings tied it on Dustin Brown’s goal with an extra attacker and won it, 2-1, in a shootout in front of 18,230 fans at Staples Center.