Richard Clune hopes to bring new element to Kings’ lineup

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Richard Clune will be restored to the Kings’ ever-changing lineup Monday when they face the Colorado Avalanche at Staples Center, and it won’t be for just for his pugnacious nature.

That’s certainly a large part of the reason the chatty winger will return after being a healthy scratch against the Islanders on Saturday. But since Coach Terry Murray has put him with Alexander Frolov and Jeff Halpern, it’s entirely reasonable to think Clune could get his name on the score sheet for something other than a fight.

Clune, who almost made the roster out of training camp but was hampered by a pulled groin muscle, was something of a scorer in junior hockey. He scored 21 goals and 20 goals in two seasons with Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League and 32 goals for Barrie of the OHL in 2006-07, the same season he racked up 151 penalty minutes in 67 games.

But at 5-foot-10 and less than 200 pounds in a league full of giants, he knew his scoring touch wouldn’t be his ticket to the big leagues.

‘It’s been tough. If you want to play at this level there’s no real in-between. You’ve got to pick one thing and do it,’ he said after the Kings’ game-day skate Monday. ‘I’m not a natural goalscorer so I couldn’t survive on that. I changed my game a little bit going into pro, and at the end of the day I’m sitting in an NHL locker room.

‘There’s no reason why I can’t put in a couple to help the team. I get frustrated when I don’t score. Last game I had a chance to score a big goal and tie the game up 1-1 and we could have probably beat Chicago, and I missed and I think that was the turning point of the game because they came back and scored two.

‘I think everything else I’m doing is great, so I think it would be a huge bonus if I could chip in with some goals or assists.’

In 10 games since being recalled from Manchester of the American Hockey League, Clune has two assists, both against Colorado on Feb. 13. He also has 26 penalty minutes -- and the respect of his teammates, who ride him about his constant chatter.

‘He’s in his first season, 10 games in, and it’s like 1,000 games for him because he likes to talk a lot,’ Brad Richardson said. ‘In the room, on the bench. Everywhere, actually. He’s a great guy and playing the kind of role he does he’s a fun guy to make fun of, but he takes it well and he can dish it out a bit too.’

And can dish the puck. ‘I played junior against him a couple years. He was a really good player. A lot more offensive than he is now, but I think he’s been a pretty good player all his life,’ Richardson said.

‘In practice, once in a while, he shows glimpses of his glory days. That’s his favorite song too.’

He will get his chance at glory tonight.

‘Colorado have a pretty gritty hockey club. They’ve got a couple of guys in particular that will come at you pretty hard on the forecheck and physical. I think Clune is a player that will respond to that,’ Murray said.

‘And at the same time he’s a player that’s going to get in on the forecheck and do some good things to create some loose pucks. So it’s important that he just go out and show composure, play the right way and if the need be he has to know to do it the right way so there’s no instigator involved.’

Murray said he’s not surprised Clune put up good numbers in his younger days.

‘There’s a lot of players who have come out of junior, out of college, who have been high-end scorers on the teams or the league that they played in and now they get to a very specific role as third-line or fourth-line players. A very important role, to check, to be on the puck,’ Murray said.

‘And I don’t look at a player like Clune as an example who would be a fourth-line palyer. I’m not looking for him to just be that on-the-hunt, hunt people down, chase people down all the time. I would like to see him be a puck-control type of player. When he does get it, do something. Attack. Be creative if you can. But certainly get pucks to the net and also to hold onto the puck on the cycle in the offensive zone and if you’re out against the top defenseman on the opponent you’re doing a valuable job by making them spend energy to hopefully pay off later in the game.’

Scott Parse was scheduled to be scratched to create the spot for Clune. The other lines were Richardson-Anze Kopitar-Wayne Simmonds; Fredrik Modin-Michal Handzus-Dustin Brown; and Ryan Smyth-Jarret Stoll-Justin Williams.

-- Helene Elliott

More later at www.latimes.com/sports