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Hartnett: Rangers' Girardi Reveals The Secrets To His Longevity And Durability

By Sean Hartnett
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For nine seasons, Dan Girardi has been the iron man of the New York Rangers. With each passing year, the 31-year-old blueliner demonstrates incredible will power to chug through the physical hardships of an 82-game regular season and the demands of deep playoff runs.

Girardi has been a remarkable specimen, brushing off the sort of injuries that tend to put others on the shelf for a while. He has only missed five regular season games in his career, and one of which was a rest day imposed by head coach Alain Vigneault ahead of the 2014 playoffs.

The prideful alternate captain has suited up for each of the Rangers' 108 playoff games since his 2007 postseason debut.

He began last season's playoffs by taking a puck and a Chris Kunitz stick to the face in Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After a visit with the dentist, Girardi returned to practice a day later and dressed for Game 2. He later played through an Grade 1 MCL sprain for the final four games of the Eastern Conference finals. Following the playoffs, he underwent a bursa sac excision to drain a tennis ball sized swelling on his left ankle.

On Wednesday, Girardi will be back out there when the Rangers meet the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. So begins another season of being on the receiving end of high sticks and elbows and blocking shots with reckless abandon.

"He's an absolute animal," teammate Keith Yandle said of Girardi. "He doesn't play easy minutes. Whenever there's a scrum, or a shot to be blocked or a tough position to be in, he's the guy the team's counting on to do it. He does it night in and night out. He obviously has the respect of everyone around here and throughout the league. It goes without saying that he's one of the biggest warriors I've played with."

The secret to Girardi's durability is how carefully he has managed his body over the course of a near-decade of NHL seasons and offseasons.

"Over the years, you learn to read your body," Girardi said in an exclusive interview with WFAN.com. "It's a balancing act. You've got to be ready, but still make sure you're rested and feeling good from a long playoff run and surgery. It's the same mentality every summer. You make sure you come into camp rested but also in the best shape you can be. The more years you play, the harder it gets on your body. So, you've got to make sure you're doing the right things in the summer.

"Personally, you need to make sure you take rest days in the summer. Take a weekend off or do a couple hard lifts and take a Wednesday off – or just do some cardio that day instead of heavy lifting," Girardi added. "If you're feeling it, you go extra hard. If you're a little sore that day, you do something to help the soreness or do some cardio instead."

This summer, Girardi's typical offseason preparation was delayed by the left ankle procedure. Seven years earlier, he underwent the same procedure on his right ankle.

"You want to take time off, but you don't want to start too late in your training," Girardi said. "I usually take a week or two weeks to let the body calm down and allow everything to heal. With surgery it's different, the wait is a little longer."

For the past eight offseasons, Girardi has enlisted the help of Peter Dobbin, head trainer of the Niagara Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League. Together, they draw up a game plan that allows the 31-year-old to continue meeting the demands of 23-minute nights on the ice.

"We try to change it up every summer and incorporate what you see other guys are doing during the year, or you hear about during the summer," Girardi said. "You have to keep the body guessing a little bit, not just going back to the same routine every day. It's about evolving. Every year, something different comes out. You try to keep up with the times -- find some different exercises, do some different cardio."

Girardi then shared insight into what his typical workout day entails.

"You get to the gym, you do your little stretch roll out on the roller to kind of get the day going," Girardi said. "Then you do a warmup with your hips and your core to get that going. Then you do some dynamic warmup stuff, some running. You get into your lifts, you do a couple of power lifting things and then at the end you do a circuit upper-body for your core. Afterwards, you do some more core. Some days you do cardio and skate, run and bike, mix it up. Everyday you're doing a different kind of cardio."

Girardi has never been a speed-burning defenseman. He's never been the strongest or most physically gifted player on the ice. A lack of wow-factor caused him to go unselected at the 2003 Entry Draft. After continuing to refine his game with the Guelph Storm and London Knights of the OHL, Rangers scout Rich Brown pushed for Girardi's inclusion at their 2005 training camp.

The resolute defenseman who was once passed up by the entire NHL would soon become a linchpin on the Rangers' blue line. Since making his debut during the 2006-07 season, Girardi's 1,330 regular season blocked shots ranks second in the NHL, trailing only Arizona Coyotes defenseman Zbynek Michalek over that span. Only Coyotes center Antoine Vermette and Anaheim Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano have played more regular season games since 2007-08.

"(Girardi) is a stalwart back there," teammate Dominic Moore said. "He's so consistent with what he does. He plays smart, he plays an effective game every game. That durability is remarkable given the style of game that he plays – blocking shots, playing physical, being such a complete defenseman. It's a testament to him. He's a huge part of our d-core's success."

For Girardi, success has come through making the most out of his physical tools, preparation and on-ice awareness.

"I think you have to use what God gave you," Girardi said. "Sometimes you have to rely on your smarts and be in the right places at the right time. I don't think I'm the fastest guy on the team by any means, but I feel I can get to the spot where I need to be and be physical. I think if you use your abilities to your advantage, you're going to have a long career.

"It's been working for me so far. I've never been complacent. I've always tried to get better, figure out ways to get stronger and do different things during the season to stay healthy and stay strong. Every day is a learning day."

Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey 

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