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Soy sauce, bananas, key to playing a 3OT game

2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic - Practice Sessions

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 1: Marc Staal #18 of the New York Rangers looks on during practice for the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park on January 1, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images)

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Wednesday’s game between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals started at 7:30pm ET. It ended after midnight. The contest lasted 114:41 minutes of actual playing time, making it one of the longest games in NHL history. Which begs the question: How do you even find the strength to play for that long?

Well, if you’re Marc Staal, who logged 49:34 minutes for the New York Rangers, you eat bananas. A lot of bananas. Staal gave an interview on Thursday to discuss what goes into recovering from a game like that. You can check it out below:

Of course, it takes more to win a triple-overtime game than just bananas. You also need plenty of soy sauce.

“We’re eating, we’re hydrating. You have fruit, you have white rice with soy sauce. You got a little bit of everything,” Washington’s Karl Alzner said. “It’s just do whatever you need to do. A lot of guys taping sticks, changing gear. Everything’s really getting wet and heavy, and you want to get a cool down somehow.”

Troy Brouwer compared it to being a kid, but instead of it being a pizza party, it was a four-plus hour marathon of NHL hockey in which he had to skate 32:02 minutes over 41 shifts. But hey, at least there were orange slices and power bars. You know, everything a kid could want.

Mercifully, neither team practiced on Thursday and they don’t have to play again until Saturday.