GUT CHECK; AFTER STARTING QUICKLY, KINGS FACE CROSSROADS.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

Kings center Ray Ferraro, a 33-year-old veteran of 13 NHL seasons, knows what it takes to win in this league. He has been to the playoffs seven times with two teams.

And, about a week ago, he warned against getting overly excited about the Kings' promising start.

``We think we're pretty good,'' he said. ``The only way you can prove that is to be consistent over a long season, though. We've had a good start, but there's a lot of things we can work on, a lot of ways we can get better.

``The only way you can make the playoffs in this conference is not to have a major slump. That'll tell you if we're for real.''

Well, the Kings, 29 games into their season (12-12-5), are at their crossroads.

After Ferraro made his remarks, his team embarked on a disastrous trip: three games, three loses, the last a 7-2 embarrassment against lowly Toronto.

As Ferraro said, how the Kings respond will reveal a lot about them.

``It's a real big game for us (tonight),'' said general manager Dave Taylor, referring to the 7:30 p.m. game against Pittsburgh at the Forum. ``The game on Saturday (against Washington) also is a big one. . . . We're going to be playing a lot of divisional games, a lot of conference games (21 of 26 games leading up to the break for the Olympics).

``That will determine whether we make the playoffs.''

A veteran team, a team secure in its ability to win consistently, might not think twice about a three-game slip-up. The Kings aren't such a team.

Remember, L.A. hasn't been to the playoffs for four long, frustrating years. And as this season was set to begin, the experts were certain the Kings would end up in the same place: at home in late April and early May.

The youthful Kings had several voids: No true playmaker, no offensive spark, no size, no speed, no leadership, no confidence, no momentum. And, it seemed, no hope.

A series of moves made by Taylor pumped life into the team. Most significant, center Jozef Stumpel and left wing Luc Robitaille have added offensive punch, Robitaille and defenseman Garry Galley have added leadership.

At the same time, relatively anonymous young players such as Yanic Perreault and Vladimir Tsyplakov have blossomed.

And, finally, the team has avoided a pitfall of previous seasons: an abundance of injuries.

The result opened eyes throughout the league: After an 0-2-3 start, the Kings went 12-7-2 including victories over Philadelphia, Detroit and Montreal.

Suddenly, the Kings were a team to be reckoned with. They had two lines that were scoring goals with consistency, the defense - led by team captain Rob Blake - was solid, goaltender Stephane Fiset was getting rave reviews and, most significant, confidence soared.

The team, disjointed last season, decided it is a winner. And played like it, attacking the opposition as if it wants to make the playoffs.

``Say you tell a guy that he's going to get goals if he stays in the slot,'' Kings coach Larry Robinson said. ``Then he stands in the slot and takes a beating for four, five games and doesn't have a goal. He's going to say, `The heck with this,' and he's going to go somewhere else. If he does score goals, though, he's going to believe in the system.

``Success breeds success. And, so far, we've had some success.''

And then it stopped.

Four days after an impressive victory over New Jersey at the Forum, which lifted the Kings' record to a playoff-caliber 12-9-5, they played a respectable game but lost 2-0 to Montreal, struggled in a 3-2 loss to Ottawa the next day and fell apart against Toronto, falling back to .500, two days after that.

Taylor blamed the mini-slump in part on fatigue, the result of a demanding and unusual schedule, about which Robinson has complained all season.

For example, the Kings had a three-game trip, came home to play only New Jersey, then left again on their ill-fated three-game excursion. Such scheduling quirks have been attributed to the 2-1/2-week Olympic break in February.

The result, Taylor said, was a frightening abundance of mental mistakes.

``This week, with one game in six days, gives us a chance to get some bumps and bruises healed up, to catch our wind a little bit,'' Taylor said.

The Kings have started relatively quickly the past two seasons - 10-5-5 in 1995-96, 10-10-3 last season - only to wither.

Certainly, fans are wondering whether the three-game losing streak is a portent of a similar fate. To use Robinson's metaphor, fans must be feeling like that player in the slot who doesn't have any goals.

However, the Kings aren't inclined to panic.

Before the trip Ferraro dismissed any comparison to previous seasons. He said, ``What happened two, three years ago just doesn't matter. We have a whole bunch of new guys. To them, it's just another season.''

Taylor agrees. He likes what he has seen this season and doesn't believe such a setback - an inevitable slump every team faces, he said - will change that.

``(They're) one win away from feeling good about themselves again,'' he said. ``No one likes to lose. You have to keep it in perspective, though. We came off a trip against Colorado, Dallas and St. Louis with three points and then beat New Jersey. The first four games (of the last seven) we did well. The fact we lost the next three doesn't make anyone feel good. But you move on.

``We've shown a lot of character all year. I think everyone believes this is a good team, a playoff team. And I think we're going to prove it.''

DOWN, UP, DOWN

The Kings' season might be divided into three parts:

First five games: 0-2-3.

Next 21 games:12-7-2.

Last three games: 0-3-0.

KINGS VS. PITTSBURGH

Faceoff: 7:30 p.m. at the Forum.

TV/Radio: FSW; XTRA-AM (690).

Kings (12-12-5) update: L.A. lost three straight on its road trip, which makes tonight's game particularly important. Can the Kings bounce back? They play Washington on Saturday at the Forum to complete a two-game homestand. Twenty-one of the team's 26 games leading up to the Olympics break in February are against Western Conference opponents.

Penguins (16-10-5) update: Pittsburgh is one of the hottest teams in the league - 8-1-1 in the last 10 games.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, 2 Boxes

PHOTO (color) Luc Robitaille, here getting held up by the Islanders' Bryan McCabe, and the Kings have found the going tougher in the last three games.

Associated Press 

BOX: (1) DOWN, UP, DOWN (see text)

(2) KINGS VS. PITTSBURGH (see text)