Kings Are on a Bad Frequency

The Kings don’t always play the Colorado Avalanche.

It only seems that way.

Including exhibitions and the playoffs, the Kings have played 120 games since the end of the 2000-01 regular season, 23 against the Avalanche.

While familiarity sometimes breeds contempt, as in the unbecoming verbal sparring between the coaches that enlivened a first-round Stanley Cup playoff series last spring, it has also resulted in spirited hockey.

Such was the case again Thursday night at Staples Center, where the Avalanche maintained the upper hand in the series, doubling its goal total from its first two games and defeating the Kings, 4-1, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,118.

The victory was the first in three games for the heretofore struggling Avalanche while the loss was the first in four for the Kings, who fell one victory short of equaling the best four-game start in franchise history.

“They were hungry,” King goaltender Felix Potvin said of the Avalanche, which broke open a tight game with three goals in the last 13 1/2 minutes. “They outplayed us real bad in the first period, and it’s always hard to get back into the game against those guys. I thought we battled, but we ran a little short at the end.”

Peter Forsberg scored two goals, his first regular-season goals in 19 months, and defenseman Adam Foote scored a back-breaking goal midway through the third period for the Avalanche, which also got an empty-net goal from Joe Sakic.

Eric Belanger’s goal for the Kings was his third in four games.

All those games between the Kings and Avalanche couldn’t help but create a rivalry. “And obviously,” King Coach Andy Murray said before the game, “playing two seven-game playoff series only heightened it.”

The Avalanche won both.

Still, there seems to be little bad blood between the two teams, other than Murray and Avalanche counterpart Bob Hartley exchanging barbs last April.

“There has to be respect,” Murray said. “We’ve fought tooth and nail for two straight years in a 14-game playoff series. Of course you respect the guy that’s across from you, how hard he’s battling you, because you know that if you don’t bring your best effort, you might get beat.”

The Avalanche scored only two goals in its first two games, a 1-1 tie against the Dallas Stars and a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, but took the lead 4 minutes 3 seconds into Thursday’s game.

Shortly after tennis star Serena Williams dropped the ceremonial first puck, Brad Chartrand of the Kings was called for roughing Radim Vrbata. Forsberg, a force in the playoffs last season, scored his first regular-season goal since March 11, 2001, netting the rebound of a shot by defenseman Rob Blake.

Already without Ziggy Palffy, who sat out for the second game in a row because of a strained groin, and playing their second game in two nights, the Kings played the last two periods without Bryan Smolinski, who suffered a charley horse in a first-period collision with Avalanche winger Brad Larsen.

But they tied the score at 6:49 of the second period, Belanger scoring a short-handed goal. With Adam Deadmarsh in the penalty box, Ian Laperriere gathered a loose puck and started a two-on-one breakaway before feeding a pass in the middle to the streaking Belanger. Belanger, who scored 17 goals in his first two seasons, beat goaltender Patrick Roy with a shot to the short side.

Foote, however, gave the Avalanche the lead for good at 6:32 of the third period, emerging from the penalty box and, with defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky in pursuit, skating alone into the attacking zone before flipping a shot past Potvin.