The dog days of winter can be a grind both physically, mentally

Patrick Kane has played in the Stanley Cup Final three times. He has played for a gold medal in the Olympics. He has played in the World Junior championships, the World Championships, and the World Cup. He has played big games in big moments on big stages for big stakes time and time again in his decorated career.

Of course, it’s easy to get up for games like that. The real challenge is to bring it when you’re playing in front of a half-empty Pepsi Center in mid-January against a last-place Colorado Avalanche team. Those run-of-the-mill games in January and February — the dog days of winter — when the early season buzz has worn off, and the late-season adrenaline has yet to kick in. When the weather is cold, the travel is endless, and the games can sometimes feel meaningless.

“As professionals, we want to get up for every game,” Kane said. “We’ve been in a lot of big games, and playoffs, and I think everyone looks forward to that, especially this time of year. But we’ve got to put ourselves in a good position to make sure we’re in the playoffs here. We’ve got to start winning some games. … They always say Games 40-60 are the hardest to get up for.”

It’s been six seasons since the Hawks truly were in danger of missing the playoffs. As a result, they’ve tended to let their foot off the gas in January and February. In the four full seasons from 2010-11 to 2014-15, they lost more games than they won in those two months, going a combined 41-35-15.

They got away with it each year, backing into the playoffs in 2011 and waltzing in every year since. But Richard Panik knows how costly a mid-season slip can be. An 11-game losing streak that began on Jan. 12, 2015 sent Panik’s Toronto Maple Leafs from contention to oblivion in four brutal weeks.

So while it seemed just a minor concern that the Hawks entered Thursday’s game against Buffalo having lost five of six, Panik knows how quickly things can spiral out of control during the dog days.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Panik said. “It can be a hard time here, in January. And we’ve got to get back on the winning track and go from there.”

Complicating matters for the Hawks is how many rookies are on the team. Nick Schmaltz and Tyler Motte are now in Rockford, but Vinnie Hinostroza, Ryan Hartman, Gustav Forsling and Michal Kempny are all entering uncharted territory as the season spills past the halfway point. Forsling has never played more than 38 games in a season. Kempny played a career-high 59 in the KHL last year. And Hinostroza and Hartman have never dealt with the relentless grind of the NHL before.

Sure, the first-class travel and food options of the NHL beat the buses and rest stops of the AHL. But AHL teams typically play Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with the occasional weekday game. There’s time to recover each week. The NHL never lets up.

“We’re playing every other day, pretty much,” Hinostroza said. “It’s just about learning how to take better care of yourself, because when you have time off up here, you need to be taking care of your body. It’s a full-time job.”

That means constantly staying hydrated. Taking ice baths at home. Stretching. Using rollers on sore muscles. Hinostroza, like many players, even uses a portable TENS machine to electronically stimulate weary muscles while sitting around watching television. Whatever it takes to keep the body — and the mind — sharp and ready for the grueling grind of an 82-game season.

“This time of year, it really shows what you’ve done in the summer,” Dennis Rasmussen said. “Because if you worked out poorly then, it’s going to come back and get you now. It can be tough, but this time of year, it shows if you’re a real pro or not.”

Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com

Twitter: @marklazerus