DENVER (AP) — The NHL players who skated at the Milan Cortina Games peaked way earlier than usual. They had to, with an Olympic gold medal on the line.
Very little downtime later, they're trying to peak again. They need to, with hockey's silver Stanley Cup up for grabs.
The game plan for teams with Olympians leading into the playoffs revolves around getting them plenty of rest. That may mean skipping morning skates, limiting their practice time, cutting
back on game minutes or, in extreme cases, sitting them out. For some squads — looking at you, U.S. (gold), Canada (silver), Finland (bronze) and fourth-place finisher Slovakia — their time on the ice was pretty much the equivalent of a first-round playoff matchup.
"It’s a lot of hockey in a short amount of time," New York Islanders center Bo Horvat said after playing for Canada, which played six games in 10 days.
Then again, some players got a gauge of what's required to re-energize after competing in the 4 Nations Face-Off last season.
“Take the rest whenever you can find it, for sure,” said Avalanche forward Brock Nelson, who helped the U.S. to its first men's Olympic hockey gold medal since 1980. “The (NHL) schedule is just so compact for everybody now. Just trying to ride the energy.”
The season paused for 19 days from Feb. 6-24 to allow players to participate in the Olympics. Adding the holiday break, each team is playing 82 games over 170 days -- one every 2.07, even more condensed than every 2.15 days in 2024-25 with 4 Nations. In 2023-24, teams played every 2.26 days with stops only for the holidays and All-Star festivities.
Returning to the Ottawa Senators was not easy for Brady Tkachuk after leading the U.S. alongside brother Matthew.
“It was definitely an adjustment coming back, not going to lie, playing in probably the biggest game that has been played in a while and then the emotions of winning,” Tkachuk said. “It took a little bit to get readjusted.”
Tkachuk, the 26-year-old Senators’ captain, is back to “normal” now. Older teammate Lars Eller, who played for Denmark at his first Olympics at 36, considers this better than the midseason doldrums.
“We’re kind of past that Olympic fatigue now, if there was any,” said Eller, whose team is in the thick of a wild-card playoff chase in the East. “Now your energy level is actually increasing here towards the end as you’re fighting for a playoff spot and you’re eyeing the end of the season.”
Ottawa’s Tim Stützle turned 24 in January, and his preparations to represent Germany at the Olympics and try to get his club back to the playoffs began last summer.
“I was prepared to go for a long season, and yeah that’s where the foundation kind of builds,” said Stützle, who tied for second at the Games in goals with four. “Obviously right after the Olympics, I was pretty exhausted with the time change and everything. But now I feel great.”
There's no choice but to grind through, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.
“You're limited in your options," Bednar explained. "It’s very little practice, lots of recovery days, whether they’re at the rink or away from the rink, trying to make sure we’re getting rest on the road and the travel schedule is appropriate. What do you do besides rest them?”
That's not really an option for Colorado. The Avalanche are leading the way in the race for the Presidents' Trophy, which goes to the team with the best record, with Dallas close behind.
“So we’re not in a position, in my opinion, to be resting guys,” Bednar said. “So you play through.”
The Stars minimize the wear and tear on their Olympic players by cutting down on minutes as much as possible.
“You can’t just, say, give two days off and it’s gone," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “You just do (the rest) over a period of time and get their bodies built back up.”
Stars defenseman Thomas Harley, who skated 118 minutes for Canada in Milan, insists he hasn't felt much of a difference. Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger cracked, “I mean, I didn’t play a single second at the Olympics so I'm fresh as a daisy.”
Oettinger, who backed up Connor Hellebuyck, believes the experience will be a benefit in the playoffs.
“I learned a lot about what it takes to win," Oettinger said. “I think a lot of those guys in that room had won Stanley Cups, and just the messages the guys were saying and how loose and light they were, even in the biggest pressure game of all time, was really impressive to watch.”
Avalanche forward Martin Necas is already recharged after leading Czechia with eight points in five games at the Olympics. Then again, he's 27.
“It was great to play on a different stage for a little bit,” Necas said. “Now it's exciting to come back.”
The Avalanche had eight NHL players take part in the Olympics, including Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews for Canada. Also with eight were the Minnesota (four on Sweden), Tampa Bay and Vegas. Dallas and Boston each had seven go.
A quartet of Finnish players from the Stars — Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz, Esa Lindell and Mikko Rantanen — teamed up with Colorado's Artturi Lehkonen to win bronze. Two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida had a league-leading 10 players in Milan but are on track to miss the playoffs after two years of playing into June.
The last time NHL players won gold and lifted the Stanley Cup in the same season was 2014, when Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty helped Canada beat Sweden in Sochi and then Los Angeles beat the Rangers in the final.
“Individually, guys have different things that they do (to get ready)," Nelson said. "But down the stretch here and playing these games, the energy is going to be high no matter what.”
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Whyno reported from New York.
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