LA Kings: Three players who exceeded expected production metrics
By Ryan Sikes
3. Matt Roy (+3.10 GF% vs xGF%)
He’s not flashy. He likely won’t ever put up big numbers, but Matt Roy has arguably been one of the most consistent players along the LA Kings blueline over the past two seasons. The former seventh-round selection had all odds against him, but Kings head coach Todd McLellan likes to refer to him as “Steady Eddie.”
The 26-year-old was set to become a restricted free agent this offseason, but the team locked Roy up to a three-year contract extension on March 21. The Detroit, Michigan native, had two goals and eight assists in 44 games this year.
He missed some time after being boarded by Kevin Fiala in the Kings-Wild series early on in the season. Like Lizotte and Athanasiou, Roy also landed on the NHL’s COVID protocol list.
It was such a choppy season for all three guys in terms of consistent games in a row without an injury or a positive test interrupting their seasons. It’s actually amazing these three led the way in GF% vs xGF%.
Roy has established his spot on the right side of the second defensive pairing. He and Tobias Bjornfot accounted for a 44.8 xGF% in 386.8 minutes, per MoneyPuck. With the Kings needing more scoring along the blue line, it’ll be interesting to monitor if the team sticks with that pairing next year.
Here were the GF% vs xGF% for all LA Kings’ skaters.
Data via Natural Stat Trick