No. I never mentioned size. We were responding to “big and nasty”. Kings were big, but Kopitar and Carter their two foundational centers don’t play nasty.
Ughhhh. We can stop beating around the bush here at any time.
The whole foundation of this conversation is about building a team with size to give you a competitive edge, and if teams in recent memory did that.
The Kings did this, twice.
When they didn't have the puck they would smash you. When they had the puck they would grind you down on the walls and force their way in front. It was a stifling, physical brand of hockey that exhausted opponents.
Being physical does not just mean throwing out flashy, huge hits. It's about winning battles all over the ice.
Those teams could take checks without losing possession. They effectively made power moves to the front of the net.
They had effective screens all the time, because they were impossible to box out.
They drew penalties because of defenders being unable to cope with it.
Stuff like that is what helped them win.