With a tough trip out west and three games in five days on the schedule, the Toronto Sceptres face a steep climb to try to get into the PWHL playoff picture.
The Toronto Sceptres have a tough stretch of travel ahead of them as their eight Olympians return home and the team immediately heads out west to play Seattle on Friday and Vancouver on Sunday afternoon, before a tough home matchup against the Montreal Victoire on Tuesday.
Sitting in seventh place, the math is not in the team's favor when it comes to qualifying for the PWHL playoffs.
Coach Troy Ryan, who rejoined the team in Toronto for a practice before the trip, said:
"We're in a tough situation. I think we were in a tough one before we left. I think having this break doesn’t make it any easier. We've got to win some hockey games and you've got to win some immediately. We've got to make that shift a lot earlier than a lot of other teams.
"It's not going to be easy with eight teams and four of them making the playoffs, but we're going to have to do our best. The last three we played (prior to the Olympic break) are very similar to what our next three obviously look like, three in five or six days. So we're in a tough situation. But we've got to find a way."
The players that stayed in Toronto to practice used the break to work on individual skills and get back up to the pace of play. Rookie Kiara Zanon said, "I think we all know where we're at. But I think we have so much confidence in ourselves and all that really matters is the belief within the room.
"I think we needed this break -- I think it was a good break for everyone, no matter where you were and what you were doing. I'm looking forward to coming back together and resetting."
Ryan mentioned that the Sceptres have to switch gears sooner than the top teams.
“We’ll have to be in playoff mentality right away. Tough situation to be coming off the international period and jumping into two games on the road that definitely have playoff implications.
“I think the good thing for our group is that we're on the road, so instead of everybody being in their own apartments or houses, this group gets to be together. Obviously, the travel is tough to go to the West Coast now, but having this group together is good, so you can just have the experience and merge it back together all at once instead of us being on our own in different situations and trying to piece it together."
The Olympic 'hangover' is also a factor that the Sceptres have to deal with, having six Canadian and two Swedish players coming back from Milan.
"It's not easy," Ryan said. "After the men's gold medal game. I had conversations with a lot of the guys that are going back to their NHL teams, and they expressed how difficult it is when you're kind of wearing the weight of your country on your shoulders and you end up disappointed.
"There's a little bit of time that you've got to make sure you manage that physically, manage that emotionally, to put yourself in the best situation to have success."
Sara Hjalmarsson, who returned to the ice along with Anna Kjellbin in Toronto prior to the flight west, said, “I think the break was probably hopefully good for everyone to get both us, being away at the Olympics and the ones being home here grinding. So I mean, I think we can hopefully see it as a little bit of a restart here."
“I think honestly, all the upcoming games are important," added Kjellbin. "And I think it’s important also to be here now — to take one day at a time, one game at a time… I think that’s what we’re going to do."