Carbohydrates and protein after a game help refill players\u2019 glycogen storage. Rice and potatoes have been go-to, easily digestible carb options. The offered protein \u2013 whether it be chicken, salmon, steak, or other options \u2013 works against muscle damage, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always think about protein as building muscle, but because during a game, they\u2019re stopping, they\u2019re checking \u2013 all of those things are putting these little micro-tears in their muscles,\u201d Nicoletti said. \u201cWe want to make sure that we turn on the pathways to healing those micro-tears. Because over time, they accumulate, and that can increase risk of injury. We really want to make sure their muscles are being repaired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hydration is another key factor; electrolytes are used pre- and post-game in water. While it is obvious that athletes sweat during games, hockey is played in a cold, dry rink. Accordingly, it can be misleading how profuse the perspiration really is.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cEven a 2% drop in body weight from dehydration will impact their skating speed and their decision-making ability \u2013 their ability to just think clearly, make split-second decisions,\u201d Nicoletti said.<\/p>\n
On top of all that, they\u2019ve got to stay healthy, too, which can be challenging when surrounded by 20-plus members of your team plus staff on a daily basis. On a home-and-away back-to-back, for example, players are exerting themselves for a 60-minute matchup, and then all get on a plane and bus together. Nicoletti has honed in on boosting immunity and limiting inflammation through diet.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cWe can\u2019t have them getting sick,\u201d she said. \u201cKeeping inflammation low and immunity high \u2013 that would be things like Omega 3s from salmon, which they have every pregame meal, from avocado, which is always provided pretty much every meal\u2026The berries provide antioxidants that help reduce inflammation and boost their vitamin C for immunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the B\u2019s are going through the food line before and after the game, they may not realize that each and every ingredient on the table was put there with a purpose. Nicoletti tries to make it as easy as possible for the players not to have to think about what to eat. Anything they choose, she said, has a targeted benefit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow tight the schedule is, too \u2013 they have to shower, do media, get on the bus. So it\u2019s a balance,\u201d Nicoletti said. \u201cI\u2019d like to put nutrition in a bubble for them and make everything perfect, but we have to make it perfect enough for them to make it realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
That food triggers the immediate recovery process. Neeld also recommends cold tubs to decrease soreness and maximize energy for the next day. Most critical, though, \u2013 and seemingly, the most simple \u2013 is a good night\u2019s sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know sleep is by far the most impactful recovery strategy that we have, so making sure that players are able to get to sleep as quickly as possible and that, when they\u2019re getting to sleep, that they\u2019re staying asleep has been a really important strategy,\u201d Neeld said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Neeld discusses each individual\u2019s sleep environment \u2013 is it quiet enough, cool enough, dark enough? Even if all those elements are perfected, it can be hard to come down from the adrenaline of skating in an NHL arena in front of nearly 18,000 roaring fans. Supplements have been helpful to work around that. Magnesium L-threonate is one that calms the mind and allows guys to more easily fall asleep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carbohydrates and protein after a game help refill players\u2019 glycogen storage. Rice and potatoes have been go-to, easily…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5099],"tags":[154,95,5132,530,5,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-542655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-bruins","8":"tag-boston","9":"tag-boston-bruins","10":"tag-bostonbruins","11":"tag-bruins","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116354006592995940","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}