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The Penguins' Matt Cullen battles for loose puck against the Panthers last month at the Consol Energy Center.
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Eating right and staying in top condition extend Matt Cullen's playing career

Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Eating right and staying in top condition extend Matt Cullen's playing career

EDMONTON, Alberta — Some days, Matt Cullen suggested, simply are more fun than others.

Makes perfect sense.

When a guy is 39 years old and makes a living as a blue-collar hockey player — killing penalties and battling along the boards and blocking shots — the aches and strains last a little longer than they once did. The bruises and sprains don’t heal quite as quickly.

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“That [enthusiasm] kind of comes and goes throughout the course of a season,” Cullen said, smiling. “Sometimes, you’re more enthusiastic than others.”

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But there are a couple of pretty good reasons Cullen still is in the NHL.

He not only has retained his passion for hockey — “I’ve always really loved the game,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed playing” — but continues to execute his role effectively.

Cullen centers the Penguins fourth line and is one of the four core penalty-killers on a unit that had not allowed a goal in its previous 17 short-handed situations — and 27 of 28 — before facing Edmonton Friday night at Rexall Place.

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Cullen broke into the NHL with Anaheim in 1997. His duties haven’t changed all that much since then — he has scored more than 20 goals in a season just twice — but Cullen pointed out that the sport has.

“The game itself has gotten so much faster,” he said. “For me, the biggest challenge is staying on top of being fit and feeling good.”

Fortunately for Cullen, whose physique makes the average greyhound seem flabby, he was around some teammates consumed by conditioning at a pivotal point in his career.

“I was 27, 28 and, for a lot of guys, that’s sort of a transition [point], where you have to decide if you’re going to commit fully to being fit, being healthy and taking care of your body,” he said.

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“For a lot of guys, that’s sort of a crossroads, and I was lucky to be around a group of guys who were older and were into that.”

Cullen was playing for Carolina then, and shared a locker room with the likes of Rod Brind’Amour, Doug Weight and Bret Hedican, all of whom took nutrition and working out very seriously.

Brind’Amour, in particular, was celebrated throughout his long career for the time and effort he invested in getting his body ready for the rigors of the game.

“Roddy was the hardest working guy I’ve ever been around,” Cullen said.

Actually, he had a good role model when he broke in with Anaheim, too, because Ducks winger Paul Kariya had a firm commitment to off-ice preparations.

“I’ve been lucky to be around some good people and I’ve learned a lot about that,” Cullen said.

Now, he’s getting pointers from Andy O’Brien, the first-year Penguins conditioning coach who used to be Sidney Crosby’s personal trainer.

“Andy O’Brien, it’s been so much fun to be around him,” Cullen said. “I’ve learned so much in such a short window.”

His willingness to eat well and work hard away from the ice have allowed Cullen to play this long.

And maybe, just maybe, he will have another season or two left after this one ends.

Cullen isn’t prepared to say he wants to return in 2016-17, but he hasn’t been working on a retirement speech, either.

“I know I’m getting near the end of my career, so I’ve started thinking about it,” he said. “At the same time, I’m really soaking everything in because being here is an absolute gift.

“It’s so fun. You know how lucky you are, and as you get older, I think you appreciate it more.”

Dave Molinari: Dmolinari@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG.

First Published: November 7, 2015, 5:00 a.m.

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