Kings are seeing the old Justin Williams

The difference in Kings right wing Justin Williams goes beyond regaining the step he lost to a badly broken leg last season and, before that, to horrendous and unrelated knee, back, wrist, and Achilles’ tendon injuries.

The changes in his play and personality are as eye-opening as the marvelous spinning goal he scored against Tampa Bay last Thursday, one of six among his team-leading 14 points.

Williams’ new vigor springs from his mind as much as from his legs.

Twice a 30-goal scorer and a key contributor to the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2006 Stanley Cup championship, he’s determined to put behind him the misfortune that bottomed out last spring when he was a healthy scratch in three of the Kings’ six playoff games.

“He’s got that little bit of a strut again that he had when he had those kinds of years with 30-plus goals and was a very important player on teams that he played on,” Coach Terry Murray said. “He’s back at that level right now.”

Williams, 29, will carry a seven-game point streak into the Kings’ game against Dallas on Thursday at Staples Center. He has combined with left wing Ryan Smyth and center Jarret Stoll on a potent second line to produce 14 goals and 34 points in the last 11 games.

He has every reason to jump for joy but has resisted that temptation — and not for fear he’ll break his foot on the landing.

“I’m satisfied, but at the same time I’m still taking things step by step,” he said. “Step one: Have a good summer, work hard, have a good training camp, have a good start to the season. So I’m taking things in increments here.

“I know things can change in a hockey season, over 82 games, like that,” he said, snapping his fingers, “and it’s not all going to go great all the time. But at the same time I’m still just trying to push forward, stay healthy and stay committed, and we’re doing a good job so far. It’s only 13 games in, but it was a good start and now it needs to be a good follow-up.”

Williams, acquired by the Kings in March 2009 in a three-way trade that sent Patrick O’Sullivan to Edmonton, needed more than physical rehabilitation to reach this point: He needed a slap in the face.

It took being a spectator for the first time since his rookie season for him to realize that this season will define him. After playing no more than 49 games in each of the last three seasons he probably can’t avoid being labeled injury-prone, though his woes resulted from accidents and not a lack of fitness. But he can choose to be known as an almost-was or a leader in the next phase of the Kings’ ascent.

“You can go the bad way or you can keep pushing forward,” he said. “I’ve done the latter and it’s just a process for me every day, just doing the same thing.”

He’s doing it now without self-pity.

“I think it could be very difficult for a player in that situation because of, ‘Oh, woe is me, bad luck, why is this going on?’ ” Murray said. “You let yourself off. Emotionally, mentally you’re not challenging yourself. And I saw that at the end of the year last year.”

“And this year to me he’s a totally different player.”

To Smyth — whose pass set Williams up for that highlight-film pivot, fake, and quick shot — the change is obvious.

“He’s eager, he’s excited, he feels strong. Any time you feel that confident you’re going to have some success,” Smyth said. “The give-and go’s, the little plays that he makes, have a huge impact for the team and the line. It’s awesome to be on his line.”

Although Williams has avoided the X-ray room, other players haven’t been as lucky. Defenseman Willie Mitchell (fractured left wrist) and winger Alexei Ponikarovsky (broken finger) will be out about a month, testing the Kings’ depth and resilience. Williams said he and his teammates won’t let up.

“No one’s holding their heads about that,” he said. “We’re not worried about one single guy going down because collectively we can battle through and stay with our system and get it done.

“We have a lot of guys who can step up and fill shoes of anybody. Everything seems to be in place that now is the time that we can have a lot of success as a team.”

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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