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Beware the first game back from the bye week

By Steve Paulus

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 13: The New York Rangers .celebrate a goal during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers on January 13, 2020 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 13: The New York Rangers .celebrate a goal during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers on January 13, 2020 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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SOCHI, RUSSIA – FEBRUARY 23: Silver medalist Henrik Lundqvist #30 of Sweden reacts during the medal ceremony after losing to Canada 3-0 during the Men’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal match on Day 16 of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 23, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
SOCHI, RUSSIA – FEBRUARY 23: Silver medalist Henrik Lundqvist #30 of Sweden reacts during the medal ceremony after losing to Canada 3-0 during the Men’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal match on Day 16 of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 23, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The Olympics

Gary Bettman didn’t allow NHL players to go to the 2018 Olympics citing scheduling and logistical issues, especially since the games were held in PyeongChang, South Korea.   A decision is still pending on the 2022 Beijing Olympics.  New York Rangers fans should petition the league to let them play.  The  Rangers are 4-1 in the five games they have played after the long Olympic breaks.

There is some logic to the decision to skip 2018, as much as it angered the players and some fans. The last time NHL players competed in the Olympics was in 2014 in Sochi, Russia.   The Rangers were off for 19 days that February, not playing a game between February 8th and 26th.  The team had been hot, winning five of six going into the break. Although they beat Chicago on the road 2-1, they lost three of their first four games back.

To halt the season for almost three weeks was a distraction, but the bigger issue was the need to compress the schedule as a result.  The Rangers played 15 games in January and 16 games in March  while playing only four games in February.

The other question we will never know the answer to is whether the fact that Henrik Lundqvist travelled to Russia and played in six games for the silver medal winning Swedes had any effect on his stamina that spring.   In a desperate fight to make the playoffs, Lundqvist played in 19 of the Rangers last 23 games after the Olympics.  In all, he played in 89 games that season: including 63 regular season games, six in the Olympics and 25 in the playoffs as the Blueshirts lost to the Kings in the Finals.

The 2010 Olympics break was not as long because the Games were held in Vancouver.  As a result, the break was 15 days long.  The Rangers had won two in a row going in  and won their first game back against Ottawa 4-1.  They then went into a tailspin, losing seven of ten.

Before that, the Rangers won their first game back in 1998, the first year of NHL participation, lost in 2002 and won in 2006.

So, their record coming out of extended Olympics breaks is 4-1.  That’s pretty good, but what about the regular season?

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