Some might see the three-week Olympic break and 11 days off from the ice as delaying the inevitable for the Rangers amid what has been a tough season.

A lifted roster freeze awaits when the season resumes Feb. 26, and a trade deadline of March 6 that will likely shake things up once again in New York is not too far behind.

However, the players aren’t looking that far ahead. What they needed in the short term was a break, and it was welcomed for both mental and physical rest.

“Yeah, it was definitely good,” Will Cuylle, who spent a portion of the break at home in Toronto, told The Post on Tuesday following the first team practice of non-Olympians since the start of the break. “I think in any long season, it’s good to have a break. It can be hard on your body. Eighty-two games is a lot of games. So you just try to reset and come back fresh.”

To Brennan Othmann, who split time between Florida and home in Ontario, the break provides the Rangers an opportunity to treat the remaining 25 games as a new season.

“I think it’s just been an up-and-down year for everybody,” Othmann told The Post. “At the start of the year, I don’t think anyone really figured we would be in this position, but I think it’s good just to kind of get away and reset and not worry about where we were at and everything. It’s almost like a fresh season right now and hopefully we can turn all these negatives, you want to call it, and turn them into positives after this little break.”

“I think it’s good you get that break. Even if it’s for five days, it’s nice to get away,” he added.

Heading into the shutdown, the Rangers tallied just three wins in their prior 18 games (3-13-2) and sank to the bottom of the Eastern Conference at 22-29-6.

It all ended in a 2-0 home loss to the Hurricanes, which marked their ninth shutout loss of the season and seventh on the Madison Square Garden ice.

On top of that, the Rangers also dealt leading scorer Artemi Panarin to the Kings two days ahead of the roster freeze in exchange for forward Liam Greentree (a 2024 first-round pick) and a conditional third-round pick.

The poor play came down to what Cuylle attributed to “a lot of things.”

“I feel like execution can be better, speed, playing with more passion, I feel like,” he added. “You know, we’ll see what happens. I feel like the break should help bring some of that back.”

The Rangers already have two early positives coming out of their first practice in Tarrytown.

Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin, who both suffered lower-body injuries during a 3-2 overtime loss to Utah on Jan. 5, were on the ice and in full-contact jerseys during what Cuylle described as a “good” and “competitive” first skate.

Outside of coach Mike Sullivan, Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller being in Milan, Adam Edstrom wasn’t in attendance due to personal reasons.

“It’s nice to see some faces you haven’t seen in a while… It’s good group camaraderie seeing those guys out there on the ice,” Othmann said. “They’re important players for our team and we’re happy that they’re healthy and happy that we’re all back together.”

The Rangers resume the season against the Flyers to kick off a four-game homestand.

Brett Berard and Brendan Brisson were recalled from Hartford ahead of Tuesday’s practice.

CALGARY – Devin Cooley was the first to admit that his second career start against the Edmonton Oilers went way better than his first.

Cooley made 36 saves on Wednesday to backstop the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 victory over Edmonton as both teams wrapped up play and now head into the Olympic break.

“It was honestly really fun,” said Cooley.

“When it’s back and forth, and maybe I give up a goal that I don’t really want to give up and it’s like, oh, shoot, now it’s tied again. We’re going to the third, they get a power play. That’s what I live for, that’s where I have the most amount of fun, and it’s where you get the most amount of adrenaline and it’s awesome.”

It was in his fifth career start, while he was with the San Jose Sharks, when the Oilers lit up Cooley for eight goals on 22 shots before he was pulled 14 minutes into the second period.

“I’m glad that tonight went a lot better than that one,” said Cooley, laughing as he recounted that night on April 14, 2024. “Those are the games where it’s like get me out of here. I’m not really enjoying it. I’m glad I was I was able to get some redemption.”

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Cooley’s impressive body of work on Wednesday night, eight of his stops coming against NHL leading scorer Connor McDavid, who failed to get a puck past him, epitomized how his rookie season has gone so far.

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Despite Calgary (23-27-6) languishing near the bottom of the overall standings, Cooley hits the Olympic break with a 7-6-3 record

Of 74 goalies with five or more starts, Cooley’s .921 save percentage ranks him No. 1. Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy is second at .918.

“It’s nice to see him have such success early in the year for us. He’s come in and done a very good job,” said Flames coach Ryan Huska. “He’s allowed us to take some of the load off of Dustin (Wolf) and when he’s been in that, he’s given us a chance to win every night.”

That trust from the coach took a while to build, though.

After winning the backup job in training camp, despite going 0-2 with a .846 save percentage, Cooley only started twice in the first 16 games. When Calgary opened the season with games on back-to-back nights and three games in four days, Wolf started all of them.

But Cooley’s consistent play has earned him more playing time and the last 12 games have been split six games each.

“I actually thought early in the game he looked a little shaky, and then once the game went on, he looked really comfortable,” said Huska. “Sometimes when a goaltender lets one in that he doesn’t want to go in, or he thinks he should have had, they typically dig right in from that point.

“That was the feeling we had on the bench tonight, and he most definitely did that as the game went on in the third.”

Calgary led 3-2 in the third when Kasperi Kapanen tied it for Edmonton on a shot that Cooley partially stopped, but it rolled down his arm and dribbled over the line.

But the Flames answered right back with Ryan Lomberg scoring the game-winner less than three minutes later.

“He’s an easy guy to play for, for sure,” said Lomberg. “His personality and the character he has, he’s great in our locker room and the boys love him and are hungry to play in front of him.”

Full of personality, colourful quotes and the owner of a rabbit, Tito, who has his own cult social media following, Cooley is a vibrant character off the ice and Huska said it’s the same on the ice.

“I try not to listen to any of the comments that come out of his mouth,” said the Flames bench boss with a smile. “He’s very much a free spirit. The players really enjoy having him around, and they really enjoy playing in front of him. There’s something to be said about people that have a positive vibe or an aura about them.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2026.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

CALGARY – Rookie Matvei Gridin had a goal and an assist for his first multi-point NHL game to lead the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

Jonathan Huberdeau and Ryan Lomberg, with the game-winner, also scored for Calgary (23-27-6). Nazem Kadri, MacKenzie Weegar and Zach Whitecloud had two assists apiece.

The Flames took the season series against their provincial rival winning of three of four meetings.

Leon Draisaitl, with two goals, and Kasperi Kapanen scored for Edmonton (28-22-8) as the Oilers limp into the Olympic Break on a three-game losing skid.

Flames goaltender Devin Cooley had 36 stops to record the win and improve to 7-6-3.

Suffering the loss was Tristan Jarry, who had 21 saves to fall to 15-7-2.

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The Flames never trailed with Huberdeau opening the scoring 3:12 into the game and after Draisaitl tied it, Gridin restored Calgary’s lead at 14:44 of the first period.

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With the lead up to 3-1, Draisaitl’s second of the game on the power play got the Oilers back within one at 18:26 of the second period.

Kapanen tied it 4:17 into the third.

Both teams now hit the Olympic break where they’ll be off for three weeks before returning to action in California where both will begin three-game road trips.

Takeaways

Oilers: Edmonton has now surrendered goals on five consecutive penalty kills thanks to Calgary converting each of its first two power plays in the first period. Edmonton lost on the road in regulation for the first time since the Flames beat them 3-2 on Dec. 27. They had been 4-0-1 since.

Flames: Gridin’s third career goal was his second in three games as the 19-year-old continues to impress on a line with Huberdeau and Morgan Frost. Joel Farabee has also played well of late with goals in each of the past two games, but he wasn’t able to extend the streak to three.

Key moment

A bouncing puck in front of the Oilers net went on net off the skate of Lomberg, forcing Jarry to kick out his pad, and Lomberg buried the rebound 6:44 into the third.

Key stat

Draisaitl (1,036) moved past Mark Messier (1,034) into fourth on the Oilers’ all-time points list. Draisaitl is seven back of Jari Kurri for third. Wayne Gretzky (1,669) leads, followed by Connor McDavid (1,178).

Up next

Oilers: Head to Anaheim to face the Ducks on Feb. 25.

Flames: Visit the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 26.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2026.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press