The schedule has finally done the Rangers a favor.
After being one of just two teams to play a league-high 14 games in less than four weeks (entering Tuesday), the Rangers (7-6-1) now have a five-day break — including no practices Wednesday and Thursday — after suffering their third straight loss Monday to the Kings.
“The physical grind takes its toll, but the mental grind is real,” head coach Mike Sullivan said Tuesday. “To give them an opportunity to get away from the game a little bit, get away from the rink a little bit, recharge your batteries so you can come back with a certain level of enthusiasm, is an important element.
“I think that’ll be good for all of us.”
The Rangers — who own a 6-1 record at Madison Square Garden —will have a welcome but unusual stretch of being home for nearly two straight weeks, beginning a three-game homestand against the Oilers on Sunday, followed by visits from the Blues and Flyers.
“We’ve been good at home, so coming out of the break having those games at home is gonna be huge,” Gabe Perreault said. “We know the fans are gonna be ready to go.”
During the three-game skid — in which they have allowed 18 goals — the Rangers have surrendered multiple goals in the first period of each game, including Monday’s matchup against the 26th-ranked offense in the league.
“We’re gonna try and reinforce our team game and it starts with our compete level,” Sullivan said. “Other aspects of it is bringing more structure to what we do so that we’re harder to play against.”
Sullivan broke up the defensive pairing of Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson in Monday’s loss.
Following the split, Durzi spent time with Alberts Smits, while Pettersson skated with Braden Schneider.
But the coach hasn’t determined whether he’ll reunite Durzi and Pettersson when the Rangers return from their break.
“We just felt like the last few games or so it’s been a bit of a struggle so we chose to split them up,” Sullivan said. “We might experiment other looks, but we’re having those discussions right now. I haven’t made decisions yet on that.”
James Reimer was held out of Tuesday’s practice for “precautionary reasons” with an upper-body injury.
The 38-year-old allowed three goals on eight shots before being pulled after one period in his Rangers debut.
Durzi (maintenance) and Eeli Tolvanen (personal) also did not practice.
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