The "lack of skill" with the Kings is very overrated.
Kopitar, Richards, Carter are all very skilled forwards, Doughty is as skilled as any d-man in the league, Quick is as skilled as any goalie when he is on and last year he was definitely on.
The Kings depth in being able to roll 4 lines against any of the other teams lines involves skill not just size. McGrattan, Jackman and Begin is a fairly "big" and roughly the same size as the Clifford, Nolan Fraser 4th line for the Kings and yet they would get killed if routinely facing the top 6 of play-offs team.
Detroit won plenty of games against teams much bigger and stronger without any trouble.
Size and Strength help but skill beats it with ease. If you don't have skill you will not win in the NHL.
|