The Olympic break is over, and today the NHL’s playoff contenders get down to the business of battling for the Stanley Cup. Making matters even more interesting, the trade deadline is only 10 days away (March 9 at 3 p.m.), so each team must decide quickly whether to act as a buyer or a seller.

Some teams will certainly benefit from the momentum and experience their players gained in Turin. For one obvious example, the Rangers’ goaltending situation only got better when Swedish rookie Henrik Lundqvist proved not only to be an excellent netminder, but that he can perform at a championship level in the brightest spotlight. Sunday’s Olympic finale was likely the final opportunity for Swedish stars Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg, and Nicklas Lidstrom to win a gold medal, and Lundqvist shouldered that burden with remarkable grace and poise.

But the Rangers were also dealt a huge blow when Czech forward Jaromir Jagr suffered a groin injury during Saturday’s bronze medal game against Russia. It is unknown at this time how long Jagr – who leads the NHL in goals and points – will be sidelined, but the Blueshirts clearly need him healthy if they are to contend for the Cup this spring.

At this point, it seems unlikely that the Rangers will make a move to acquire a marquee forward at the deadline, but they would be wise to pursue another defenseman, perhaps Phoenix’s Derek Morris or Florida’s Mike Van Ryn. Both are expected to be available in the coming days, and probably wouldn’t cost the Rangers much.

The Devils also suffered an injury to a key player in Turin, as Patrik Elias went down with badly bruised ribs in the Czech Republic’s first Olympic match. His status is questionable for tomorrow night’s game against the Flyers, but Elias is expected to return to action relatively soon. Even so, the Devils, who rank 21st in the league at 2.83 goals per game, clearly need an offensive upgrade, so GM Lou Lamoriello might pursue either St. Louis Blues forward Keith Tkachuk or Coyotes captain Shane Doan.

For some other teams, the injuries suffered in Turin were far more severe.

Most notably, Ottawa Senators star goaltender Dominik Hasek suffered a groin injury (also in the Czech Republic’s first game) and will be out of the Sens’ lineup indefinitely. For now, Ottawa plans to start rookie Ray Emery in Hasek’s absence. Emery is 9-4-1 with a 3.13 goals-against average and .888 save percentage in 15 games this season. This leaves GM John Muckler with a difficult decision. If he deals away a prime prospect in exchange for a veteran netminder and the 41-year-old Hasek is able to play, the move will be for naught.

But if Hasek’s injury proves to be significant and Muckler stands pat, his Cup contending team is a good bet to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Look for Muckler to hedge his bets and make a deal for an experienced netminder, perhaps Phoenix’s Curtis Joseph, who would provide a much needed safety cushion.

The team hurt most by injuries is the Vancouver Canucks, who find themselves without a triumvirate of topnotch defensemen. Ed Jovanovski suffered a groin injury prior to the Olympic break, while Mattias Ohlund and Sami Salo went down with injuries during the Olympic quarterfinals. GM David Nonis will have little choice but to make a deal to fortify the Canucks’ blue line.

While the Rangers and the Devils should be buyers at the deadline, the same cannot be said for the Islanders. The Isles’ GM situation remains in limbo – Mike Milbury is going to remain in charge until a successor is named – but that does not mean they should stand pat.

Interestingly, the Canucks’ bad fortune could represent a huge opportunity for the Isles, who would be wise to part with Alexei Zhitnik and/or Brent Sopel. Both players would easily integrate into the Canucks’ lineup, and together they might just be enough to land stud defense prospect Luc Bourdon in return. It is crucial that the Isles immediately begin looking toward 2006-07, and to that end, there might be another great opportunity on the horizon.

Dynamic Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin developed strong chemistry playing on a line for Russia with Alexei Yashin in Turin. No sane NHL team would take on Yashin’s onerous contract in totality, but it’s a good bet that the Caps would be willing to absorb close to half. For the Isles, such a move would be a simple case of addition by subtraction; the ineffective Yashin has been an unmitigated disaster as the Isles’ captain.

The next 10 days should be quite frenetic, and will go a long way toward separating the contenders from the pretenders when the puck drops on the Stanley Cup playoffs. Barring an incomprehensible collapse, the Rangers will return to the postseason for the first time since 1997. Assuming Jagr remains healthy, they have as good a shot as any Eastern Conference team to reach the Cup finals.

Considering how far they’ve come – and how quickly – that impressive turnaround should generate considerable excitement on Broadway in the weeks and months to come.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com