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Penguins defenseman Ian Cole sometimes finds life is difficult to manage during the postseason when he is off the ice.
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Penguins find different ways to deal with the stress, rigors of postseason hockey

Larry Roberts/Post-Gazette

Penguins find different ways to deal with the stress, rigors of postseason hockey

As April 18 — Tax Day — approached a few weeks ago, the number of phone calls from his accountant started to pile up on Ian Cole’s phone.

Cole needed to submit some paperwork to file his federal tax extension, but in the days leading up to the deadline, his mind was elsewhere.

Specifically, it was on the first three games of the Penguins’ series against Columbus.

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“That’s a really important thing that should be first and foremost in your mind, and that was even pushed to the back burner,” Cole said. “I was like, ‘I’ll do it later, I’ll do it later. I’m busy.’ ”

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The Penguins went through a long playoff run a year ago, and hope to do so again this spring. Over the course of those two months, day-to-day tasks (and even some more important ones) tend to take a bit of a back seat. Players have more days off in the playoffs than they do in the regular season, but those off days are focused entirely on the next game, next period, next shift.

“I’ll wash that laundry later, I’ll fold those clothes later,” Cole said. “Everything you do come playoff time revolves around hockey and preparing for the game. The ability to multitask, at least for me, isn’t really there come playoff time.”

“I have a long list of phone calls to return, I just haven’t,” center Matt Cullen said. “Stuff like that may stack up.”

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Cullen has a bit more on his plate than a lot of his teammates, too, with three sons under the age of 10 at home. In the postseason, daily chores tend to get replaced by rest and recovery. A proper amount of downtime and rest can be just as important as the on-ice practices.

That’s why, when Cullen needs a nap on a postseason off day, that nap takes priority.

“That’s where the importance of having a family that’s understanding and helpful on working with you,” Cullen said. “It’s all-encompassing right now. This is the only thing that you’re thinking about.”

Cullen said his wife is completely understanding of the playoff mindset, and he isn’t alone in that regard. Wives and girlfriends might be the unsung MVPs of long playoff runs, taking on a little bit more responsibility to ensure the players can lead at least semi-functional day-to-day lives.

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“She’s in playoff mode, too,” winger Bryan Rust said.

Winger Conor Sheary said his girlfriend wasn’t quite sure what she was getting into for the Penguins’ Stanley Cup run. But this season, much like Sheary, she now has some playoff experience under her belt.

Rust added that having a significant other who understands the ups and downs of a postseason run isn’t just helpful with day-to-day chores, but from a mental standpoint, too.

“We’ll go to mini golf, go to a movie,” Rust said. “We’ll do things like that to try and get out and about. Try to get the mind off things.”

While the games are more intense this time of year, players actually have more downtime than they do in the regular season, with no back-to-backs and occasionally multiday layoffs between games.

A lot of that time is spent in the training room and on the massage table, but getting the mind away from hockey also can be a part of that recovery process.

For most players, TV tends to be a big part of their off days — “The couch is my favorite spot,” defenseman Brian Dumoulin said — and Cole and Rust are among those who also like to get into some video games.

Cole dived into “Fallout 4” in the 2016 Cup run, and this year is playing “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon” on his XBox. He can even kill two birds with one stone, wearing recovery boots while he plays.

“It’s pretty fun,” Cole said. “It takes a little bit of thought. You can’t just run around mindlessly. You have to put some thought into it, some strategy.”

Each player has his own methods for off-day relaxation in the playoffs, but for some of them, there is one common theme — no hockey.

Winger Tom Kuhnhackl, for one, said he’ll try to avoid watching the other playoff games on days the Penguins don’t play. Unwinding and de-stressing means getting the mind away from hockey — completely.

“Try to get away from it a little bit, just because you have to deal with hockey every day,” he said.

Instead, Kuhnhackl will turn to the sport far more popular in his homeland of Germany — soccer. His favorite club is Bayern Munich, and watching their matches is his way of balancing himself out mentally.

He watched their Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid the afternoon of Game 1 against Columbus. Bayern lost, but the Penguins won.

“For me, it’s a good day when I watch soccer,” Kuhnhackl said.

Other players aren’t as concerned about getting hockey overload on their off days. Cullen’s three sons are all avid hockey fans, so his nights away from the rink this time of year are usually spent watching the other playoff games with them.

“During the season sometimes there’ll be nights where I just want to get away from it,” Cullen said. “This time of year it’s so fun and the games are so fun to watch.”

Cullen enjoys talking about the games with his sons and, after 20 years in the league, has plenty of insights, as well as friends on just about every team.

“It’s fun to watch the games, talk about it with the kids,” Cullen said. “I like to watch the games. I just love the atmosphere around the whole playoff experience.”

For better or worse, this time of year is all about hockey.

Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG.

First Published: May 1, 2017, 2:35 a.m.

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