The general rule of thumb for traveling across time zones is that it takes about a day to adjust for every hour.

So going from Pittsburgh to Stockholm for the NHL Global Series, which is six hours ahead, “by day six, you’re feeling normal. Well, day seven, we’re gone,” said Penguins Director of Performance Rich Rotenberg with a smile.

“What we have going for us, I think, is having fit athletes who are very in tune with their bodies. Generally, they’re younger, so we don’t have concerns of difficulty sleeping. And then, it’s just what could we do for that extra few percent to assist them in acclimating a little bit quicker. Our whole medical and performance team was great in making sure that our timing was proper in all of our activity, that we had the resources and executed a plan.”

Rotenberg provided more insight into how the support staff did that going into Europe, where the Penguins picked up three out of four points, and now coming back to North America ahead of back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.

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The Penguins were scheduled to fly out of Pittsburgh on Monday, Nov. 10 at 9 PM to be in the air overnight.

“The problem would be if you traveled throughout the day and got to the destination in the evening, it would be like okay, I want to sleep now. Then you’re going to be a mess for a while,” Rotenberg said.

Penguins performance dietician Kourtney Gordon put together kits for each player containing items that would help them try to catch at least a little bit of sleep, even though the staff knew it probably wouldn’t be of any quality. There were supplements like melatonin, along with eye masks, earplugs, and blue light blocker glasses.

“I can’t speak highly enough about the work that she did, just being very comprehensive and making sure everything was set in place, but also the education around why we’re doing things,” Rotenberg said. “So, why we want to reset our meal timing, why we want to take certain supplements to help us sleep better and to acclimate to the time zone. She did a tremendous job in just making sure that we had all the resources we need.”

After landing, the traveling party cleared customs, got on buses ,and drove straight to the rink for practice. The Penguins wanted to provide some structure and ensure the players got some movement after a day off the ice on Monday, however challenging it was.

“I think that was the hardest thing for me, was just getting off the flight, we went to practice, and you were kind of just trying to force your body to open up and get loose,” defenseman Ryan Shea said.

They were supposed to practice at 12:30 PM local time, but delays meant the Penguins didn’t take the ice until after 2 PM, which actually worked out better. By the time the players got back to the hotel, it was nearly time for their team dinner, so they didn’t have a window to nap that would have made it tougher to sleep at night.

“The key is, when you get to your destination, to expose yourself as quickly as possible to your new time,” Rotenberg said. “So, making sure that if you can get daylight. Even if there’s no sun, daylight is very important. So, your body’s like, okay, I’m doing stuff now, even if I’m feeling a bit tired. But activity and meal timing is really important in resetting your body to your new destination.

“So, by planning to land and then get to the rink, get some activity, that allows us to say, like, hey, it’s the afternoon, it’s work time. I’m not going to fall asleep and then be up all night, because I got to keep moving here.”

Rotenberg said that the theory of it all is one thing, but it certainly helps to have veteran players who have traveled overseas for tournaments and players from Europe, who all know what to expect.

Head Coach Dan Muse has also been overseas before with USA Hockey, and was incredibly collaborative with the performance group when it came to how everything was structured. Particularly on that Tuesday, knowing the NHL CBA requires one off day per week, which ended up being Wednesday.

Shea said that in the first couple of days, it felt like he was waking up from naps instead of having continuous nights of sleep. “I would go to bed at like 10:15 (PM) and wake up at 1 (AM) and be up for two hours, and then go back to sleep for two hours,” he said.

“But once we started skating, you pretty much didn’t nap over there. So, you started going to bed at a good hour. But it’s weird, one time I did nap and I woke up and it was like, 2:50 (PM) and it was dark out since the sun sets at like, 3. I was like, did I miss something?”

The team provided breakfast and lunch every day and pregame meals/snacks on game days, with the players trying out different spots around Stockholm for dinners. It was a good balance between their typical meal options and a new type of cuisine.

“I actually thought the food was really good. I loved it,” Shea said. “It’s very fresh over there. Breakfast was really good. Like, all the dinners we had… even at the hotel, the hotel had great food. So, I don’t think getting fueled up and getting your protein and all the stuff that you need was a problem.”

The players were pretty much on the go from Thursday to Sunday with two practices, two games, and a day of media and community obligations.

“I think a lot of planning, a lot of collaboration, was involved in making sure that the players had everything they needed, felt as good as possible. I think it showed in terms of our ability to execute on Sunday and just play strong,” Rotenberg said.

The Penguins left right after the game on Sunday, which was a 3 PM puck drop. The flight landed after 11 PM Eastern time, which was after 5 AM in Sweden.

“We educated guys on doing their best to not sleep on the flight over so that they could sleep at night,” Rotenberg said.

Easier said than done, but the guys looked out for each other.

“Hayesy (Kevin Hayes) had to wake me up once,” Graves said. “That’s just the guy I am,” Hayes quipped from across the locker room.

“The problem was I started to read and I fell asleep. That was toward the end of it, and that did me in,” Graves went on. “Before that, I watched a movie. Hayesy and I watched The Greatest Game Ever Played together. And then I watched Gladiator. I had never seen it before.”

Apparently, Erik Karlsson had said to Graves a couple of weeks before that Gladiator is the best movie of all time. Graves said he wouldn’t know, and Sidney Crosby – who shares Karlsson’s opinion – was none best pleased. “He was pissed I hadn’t seen it,” Graves said with a laugh. “Then I downloaded it for the flight, and I watched that.”

It sounds like the guys got some decent sleep when they arrived home Sunday night, and got even better sleep last night after a day off to start reacclimating.

“The key is finding that right balance between rest, recovery from the week, from the travel, all the demands of that, and preparing for the weekend ahead,” Rotenberg said. “We’ve got two really important games coming up on Friday and Saturday.

“So again, this is where I’m talking to our staff. I’m talking with Dan about, how do we want to structure this? We want to make sure that we’re getting guys acclimated to the time, if the sun’s out, getting sunlight, but up during daylight and getting some activity as well.”

They ended up making Tuesday an optional practice that was structured like a morning skate.

“Today was all about just getting back into like a routine, taking what you need,” Rotenberg said. “If you felt like you needed more recovery time, you didn’t have to skate, you didn’t have to train. We have options available. And a lot of guys did skate today. We just kept the volume low, we kept the intensity lower. Then for the rest of the week, we’re going to get back into normal preparation.”

Muse couldn’t say enough about the job the entire support staff has done, not just now, but throughout the course of the season, with the Penguins playing pretty much every other day going into the trip.

“They’re always playing such an important role, and there’s so many people behind the scenes, and this group has been fantastic to work with,” Muse said.