The Penguins' game Saturday had been over for nearly a half-hour, but their work was not.

Long after the conclusion of their 4-3 victory against the New York Rangers, players were lifting weights, riding stationary bikes and doing plyometric exercises.

Hockey is a 12-month job these days, and game-day commitments aren't limited to the 60 minutes spent on the ice.

Postgame workouts have become part of players' regimen, whether they're used simply to purge the lactic acid that builds in leg muscles during a game -- "You want to give yourself a good flush to make sure that stuff comes out of you," defenseman Sergei Gonchar said -- or to enhance overall conditioning and strength.

Participation is, for the most part, mandatory, although the details and duration of each player's session are influenced by a number of factors, including playing time, personal preferences and physical status.

"Typically, everybody -- no matter how many minutes you have -- is doing something, unless you're hurt and can't," conditioning coach Mike Kadar said. "And then you're in the medical room."

It's quite a change from a few decades ago when, in the aftermath of a game, most players did nothing more strenuous than to pry the top off a bottle of beer.

It might strike some as counter-intuitive that participants in a physically demanding sport would not benefit most from relaxing as much as possible after a game, but as a rule, players see it differently.

"Most people would look at it and say, 'You're going to burn yourself out,'" defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "But at the same time, when you're training your body that way and keeping your metabolism up, it actually creates energy for you."

If players don't have injury issues, Kadar begins to formulate the finer points of their workout by reviewing ice time after the first two periods, then projecting how much a particular player figures to log for the entire evening.

He breaks playing time into four categories -- 0-10 minutes, 11-15, 15-20 and 20-plus -- and crafts individual workout plans accordingly.

"The lower-end guys would do more of a bike program than the higher-end guys," Kadar said. "You try to get your low-end guys doing the same amount of work as the high-end guys [do during and after games], so that nobody falls off."

Guys who play a lot might ride the bike for 10 or 15 minutes, those who aren't as involved in the game for 20 or 25.

Players have the option, Kadar said, of using a slide board, on which the skating motion is simulated, or treadmill instead of a stationary bike.

Not surprisingly, weight-lifting programs also are tied to a player's workload during the game.

"A lot of guys who played 20, 25, 30 minutes aren't going to do as much, because they're more physically spent than someone who plays 10 minutes," Kadar said.

Of course, ice time isn't the only factor he must consider.

"Some guys may have blocked a shot and they have a sore foot, so they can only do upper-body stuff," Kadar said. "I have to go around and see how guys are feeling."

In addition to lifting and riding, players spend time in an area outside the weight room doing a variety of exercises.

Saturday, for example, defenseman Mark Eaton and goalie Mathieu Garon did deep-knee bends and leg-building lunges. A few feet away, right winger Eric Godard, his feet on an ottoman-type stand, did sit-ups while tossing a medicine ball, which is popular with players seeking to strengthen their core.

At one point, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury joined the group, jumped up to grab a bar about 8 feet above ground level and chinned himself on it, but acknowledged that wasn't part of his structured workout.

Fleury's enthusiasm aside, players admit there are times when they would prefer to skip the postgame sessions, but most seem to appreciate their big-picture importance.

"If you get away from it, it starts to catch up with you," Orpik said.

"This time of year, you get fatigued. Especially when you get to the playoffs, that's when you really start getting tired. The harder you can go during the season, the more prepared your body is for the playoffs."

NOTES -- Defenseman Mark Eaton is the Penguins' nominee for the Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. ... The Penguins are one of many teams vying to sign the top two free agents in college hockey, Boston University defenseman Matt Gilroy and Denver center Tyler Bozak. They also hope to have Boston University defenseman Brian Strait turn pro once the Terriers' postseason run is over.