Avalanche Presents Formidable Challenge

It’s only a short time, but the impression made by the Colorado Avalanche in its 7-2 victory over the Kings on March 28 is indelible.

After all, they got a great view, from a distance, watching the moves of Theoren Fleury, Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg as though they were pieces of art in a gallery.

“We talked about any time a team has speed or is a skilled team, you’ve got to take their ice away,” Coach Larry Robinson said. “We gave them too much room. Guys were standing and watching. . . . We just kept backing up and backing up.”

And watching the red light flash, continuously signaling a disastrous beginning to what has been a disastrous 1-3 trip.

“We were probably a little scared of who we were playing,” defenseman Rob Blake said. “You look at that lineup. They keep coming at you.”

And tonight the trip ends, where it started, after winding thousands of miles through Boston, Detroit and Nashville, back to Denver, where the view is all too familiar.

But now the Kings are seven points out of a playoff spot with only seven games to play.

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The Kings have beaten a few teams they probably shouldn’t have, including Detroit twice and Philadelphia, and that has drawn attention from their problems against the NHL’s lower-level teams.

And, for that matter, everybody else.

For example, the Kings are 13-10-2 against teams that weren’t in playoff position, and seven of those 13 wins have come against Edmonton and Chicago.

And for all of the noise made against the Detroits and Philadelphias, they are only 15-31-3 against this season’s playoff teams.

Tonight at Colorado, 6 p.m.

* Site--McNichols Arena.

* Radio--KRLA (1110).

* Records--Kings 28-42-5, Avalanche 40-26-10.

* Record vs. Avalanche--1-2-1.

* Update--Theoren Fleury has scored eight goals and had 11 assists in his first nine games with the Avalanche, and he hasn’t hesitated to speak his mind. When Colorado fell behind Calgary, 2-0, on Tuesday night, the Avalanche play “was unacceptable,” Fleury said. “There’s got to be passion, there’s got to be grit, there’s got to be this and that. . . . They get up two goals and then we decide, ‘Oh, geez, it’s time to play hockey now.’ ” Fleury had four assists in Saturday’s 5-2 win over Edmonton.