When the Stanley Cup playoffs call for players to dig deep, The Warriors come out to play.
Can you dig it? In the 30-plus years since its 1979 silver-screen debut, The Warriors had become a cult classic, and it even had something of a modern revival by way of an eponymous 2005 beat-’em-up video game. And, really, it’s never too late to harken back to the retro action flick. That opened the door for Megan Leonard’s fantastic cover illustration featuring the Bruins’ Tim Thomas, Canucks’ Ryan Kesler and Rangers’ Brad Richards in Warriors stylings. The Nashvile Predators and their then-elite player, Alex Radulov, also are highlighted in this issue.
Associate senior writer Ryan Kennedy’s main feature was about the archetypal athletes who “come out to play” in the post-season, including those willing to play through ailments and others who would sacrifice life and limb for Stanley Cup glory. It so happened, too, that the never-say-die Los Angeles Kings, every bit the rough-and-tumble types that The Warriors would’ve been proud to support, were the club that captured the 2012 crown. The Hockey News’ championship odds pegged coach Darryl Sutter’s team at 38/1, but the Kings started the post-season by shocking the Western Conference-favorite Vancouver Canucks in the opening round, and they never looked back.
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