MAYBE SUDAFED WILL HELP THEM RELAX

Unlike their NBA counterparts, NHL players are staying in the Olympic Village here. The rooms are small and the beds are short, but defenseman Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils says players can make do.

“We’re going to be so tired, we could probably sleep on the floor and sleep well,” he said.

Defenseman Chris Pronger of the St. Louis Blues joked that he knew he was an Olympian “when I got into my room and saw I have no TV and I can’t order room service.” But he’s not becoming a prima donna. “I can walk the extra 50 feet down to the 24-hour cafeteria if I get hungry,” he said.

THAT’S REALLY USING YOUR NOODLE

If U.S. center Pat LaFontaine gets hungry, all he has to do is sniff his duffel bag.

The meal on the team’s flight to Japan was spaghetti, served out of a big crock pot near the front of the plane. Players had stored their bags near the food service area, and LaFontaine had left his bag half-open. When the spaghetti spilled, it fell into his bag and got all over his belongings.

“It was clothes marinara,” he said. “I saw the bag and I’m thinking, ‘That poor guy whose bag that is.’ The guys were all over me for that.”