The Sunday Read: What Happens Following the Final Buzzer

DALLAS –– The final buzzer sounds. Fans file out of the arena. The players skate off the ice and towards the locker room.

While the night’s main attraction has come to a close, there is still work to be done for the Boston Bruins.

Once the gear is stripped and jerseys are placed in the center bin, a group of B’s walks over to head performance coach Kevin Neeld and the on-the-go gym he’s set up at the visiting arena.

Scoresheets are submitted. Interviews are held. Bags are packed. The postgame grind, though, is just beginning.

“You’re definitely exhausted after a hockey game,” James Hagens said. “It’s a long season, it’s tough, but you have to make sure that your body stays up and that comes with doing work in the gym.”

The 19-year-old rookie is learning just how much off-ice work goes into being ready for puck drop in the NHL. Hagens played the last two seasons in the NCAA with Boston College. There were two games a week (on Friday and Saturday), and practices were plenty. He is now skating in three to five games a week with air travel, steeper competition and limited practice time.

“You really have to take a deep dive on what your body needs after a game because everybody is different,” Hagens said.

Hagens has worked closely with Neeld and Tim Lebbossiere (assistant performance coach) to get his pro routine down, and it follows what a lot of his teammates are doing. The training staff schedules each workout session with a purpose, especially directly after a game.

“I think it really comes down to trying to maximize the recovery before the next game. Immediately after one game ends is the longest period of time that you’ll have before the next game starts. There are definitely different types of training, where the fatigue from playing the game would interfere with getting the quality of work that we want out of that training,” Neeld said. “But there are other things that we can accomplish, where a lot of the guys finish the game, and they’re warm, they’re awake and alert and we have this 15 to 20 minute window after the game where we can get in a low volume of some high-quality strength work in particular, and know that we’re going to have, typically, at least 48 hours for them to recover from that before the next game day.”

Neeld breaks the training into movement patterns, he said. The lower-body pushing patterns include squat variations, single-leg squats and split squats. Lower-body pulling patterns are deadlift variations and exercises that target the posterior chain, hamstrings and glutes. The postgame lifts usually have one lower-body pattern, an upper-body push and an upper-body pull. Neeld also likes to mix some hip and core into that.

Most players opt into the session. They have their personal regimens, too. Mark Kastelic can always be found on the stationary bike minutes after the matchup ends.

“Our strength guys guide us with what they think is appropriate. That could either be a post-game lift a lot of nights; it’s pretty common that we do a workout after while our bodies are already tired, just to push it a little more. And then on the off days we can truly rest,” Kastelic said. “I personally bike to flush the legs out. That’s usually like right away after the game. And then depending on the night, I also like to do ice baths or contrast and stuff to get your legs feeling as good as possible for the next day.”

Nikita Zadorov, who is in his 14th NHL season, has adjusted his routine over the years.

“Most of the guys, they do work out after the game. I usually work out the next morning. I just feel fresher that way. It depends on the minutes you log; sometimes you go out there, and you didn’t feel your legs, so you want to add a little bit more so next game you’ll be feeling better. Sometimes it’s a bike ride, sometimes a quick lift or stretch,” Zadorov said. “Recovery starts as soon as the game is over. You want to get a protein shake in you, get some fluids.”

Something Zadorov has done his entire career is get a massage on his legs after every game. It helps with his soreness, he said. The 31-year-old defenseman has skated for six different teams throughout his career, and has picked up tips from former and present teammates.

“There’s a bunch of guys who are super professional. When you play in Colorado, MacKinnon is so dialed in on the recovery and the stuff off the ice to make him better…You see all the leaders I’ve been [with] – J.T. Miller, Patrick Kane, those guys. They all have different routines with how they recover, so I think you just take something from each of them and put it inside your routine,” Zadorov said. “It took me time to figure out. When you’re young and dumb, you kind of just wake up, not do anything, go on the ice with no warm-up. But now, as you get older, you have to take care of your body if you want to play longer in this league.”

Zadorov invested in clean-eating habits when he was on the Avalanche (2015-2020) with Nathan MacKinnon, he said. The gluten-free, protein pancakes have even made their way into the Bruins’ pregame snack options. Zadorov tries to stay away from dairy and gluten before a game.​

Nutrition is an area of emphasis for the B’s. Amanda Feldman joined as the team dietitian in September, expanding the resources for the players at home and on the road. Feldman works with each individual to personalize an in-season nutrition plan that works for them, oversees all the team meals and has an open ear to questions and suggestions from the guys. The organization committed to adding more depth to its performance team in Feldman. 

“Just like we try to approach things from a training standpoint and individualize the work for the players as much as possible, bringing Amanda in now allows us to do that from a nutrition standpoint,” Neeld said. “There’s a line between what the players need and then what they may want, and how much we can customize things so that they’re getting the nutrients they need consistently, but in a form they enjoy so they look forward to getting what they need on a regular basis. I think having an extra set of hands allows us to do a lot more in that space.”

Feldman served as the sports dietitian for the Boston Fleet (PWHL) for the past three seasons (2023-26) and also worked as a sports dietitian at Boston University since October 2025. The minutes and hours after a Bruins’ game are just as important as those leading up to puck drop for Feldman.​

“Immediately after, as quickly as we can get nutrition into them, the better. So focussing on rehydrating, on carbohydrates, protein, getting a good balance of those things and then also providing a full meal as soon as it makes sense,” Feldman said. “When you’re playing a sport or really doing anything active, you’re utilizing the sugar that our muscles store, carbohydrates; you’re using those. So you’re using up a lot of the stores that you have, so you want to really replenish that. That’s why carbohydrates are so important to have after for recovery and just to be able to go out again the next day – practice, play a back-to-back game. And then protein is really important for rebuilding muscle.”

Hagens has made his diet a priority as he navigates the highs and lows of his first year in the league. He is trying to play as hard as he can and produce, all while keeping on the weight and muscle needed to compete in the NHL.

“It’s a lot. It’s a lot on your body, but if you take care of yourself, I think a big thing is eating. That’s something that I’ve found a huge difference in just within my body. When you eat well, you feel good; when you feel good, you are able to skate harder and for longer,” Hagens said. “I love steak and chicken. I try to seriously just look at it, keep a mental note of what I’m putting in my body. Making sure you’re consistent with it, as well.”

Both Kastelic and Zadorov named chicken and steak, along with some pasta, as their go-to postgame meal once they have an appetite. Food can be the last thing on the players’ minds after the intense exertion a hockey game requires. So, Neeld and Feldman turn to liquids as a quick fix.

“What we’ve typically done in the past is that we’ll make protein shakes for all the guys. There are different forms of protein, a couple different flavors that we’ll let guys select, and then there are different add-ins that go in depending on what the player needs,” Neeld said. “Some players add collagen, some players add creatine, and all the players were adding a little bit of extra glutamine, which helps tissue healing and even digestive health.”

Feldman had the idea of adding smoothies to the postgame menu. Based on the players’ preference, it can include the supplements originally in the protein shakes, or just be a mix of peanut butter, almond milk (or water) and fruit. Kastelic is a fan.

“Now this year, we are kind of mixing in smoothies, too, which is really nice,” he said. “After a game or a workout, I feel like I am always way more thirsty than hungry, so sometimes it is hard to eat right away. So smoothies always sound good.”

Neeld, Feldman and the training staff prepare the drinks during the game. It usually takes one period to make all the protein shakes, Neeld said. The smoothie process will be a learning curve; Feldman is working to knock them out during the third so they’re both ready and have good consistency when the Bruins get to their stalls. Add a blender to the list of things the B’s will be traveling with this year.

“The value postgame of getting blended fruit is that you’re replenishing some of your body’s carbohydrate stores quickly after the game in addition now to the protein,” Neeld said. “While you’re exercising, there’s a lot of blood flow to the muscles that are working, and in your muscles you store carbohydrates. So you’re burning through that as they play. After the game, when you take that in in a liquid form, your body can digest it quickly, so that it can send that energy right back to replenish the stores that were used up.”

Once the smoothies, protein drinks, workouts and cold tubs are done, it is time for arguably the most important part of a postgame plan: sleep. It can be the most challenging part of the night, too, after running off the adrenaline of an NHL game in front of more than 16,000 fans.​

“It’s hard. I feel like it’s pretty common for a lot of guys to have trouble falling asleep. When I’m at home, I just go home and try to unwind. My wife is usually pretty tired, so I feel like it helps when she goes to bed because I kind of just follow along and then try to force myself to sleep,” Kastelic said. “I’ve tried a lot of different things; meditating and all that stuff. Usually just takes a few hours to wind down. Sometimes watching a show or two. I feel like it’s better than being on my phone or something, just scrolling in bed.”

Kastelic does not use anything to track his sleep; neither do Zadorov or Hagens. With the occasional 3:00 a.m. landings in a new city and early wakeups, they said the score would stress them out more than help the cause.  

​“Sleep is a weapon, obviously, in this league. It depends on the guy, how they manage the sleep routine, too, because some guys it takes them longer to go to bed,” Zadorov said. “But I know how I feel. I am not a long sleeper; I don’t need like nine or 10 hours. I’m good with anything between six to eight…Plus I’ve got three kids, there’s no luxury with that.”

Hagens does not have kids to worry about. He is sleeping pretty soundly these days, thanks to a new eye mask.

“I used it on the plane for the first time, and I feel like I’ve been sleeping like a baby ever since,” Hagens said. “On the inside, it has like a foam goggle. I love this sleeping mask. It’s gone everywhere with me so far. That’s been a huge difference for me.”

While the games may be 60 minutes, the work never truly stops for the Bruins. The final buzzer is simply an end to the on-ice action. And then comes the work behind the scenes – whether that’s a lift, protein-packed smoothie, or even an elevated eye mask – that makes it possible to do it all over again and again and again.