The Washington Capitals’ search for a scoring winger will continue after the Olympic break, as the team stood pat while the NHL’s Olympic Roster Freeze went into effect at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

Until 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 22, teams cannot make trades. Waiver-exempt players can be sent down unless they’ve appeared in 16 of the team’s final 20 NHL games before the freeze or were on an NHL roster for 80 days prior to Jan. 21.

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Players can go on waivers during the freeze, though for the Capitals, any players waived after Thursday do not have to report to their new team until Feb.17.

General manager Chris Patrick had made it clear that the Capitals were “actively pursuing” an addition up front that could help the team find more consistency on offense and the top-6.

“For us, we view our biggest need as a higher-end skilled winger. Those aren’t always available at the deadline,” Patrick said earlier in January. “When they become available, they become available. So, we’re going to keep trying to pursue those guys if they’re out there.”

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Washington, who has won three of the last four games after a rough end to the month of January, sits four points out of a tie for third in the Metropolitan Division and five points out of a Wild Card spot.

“I hope we can do something that helps us in the short term for this team getting into the playoffs again, for Alex having another run at the playoffs, and it also helps long-term for whenever it is he’s not on the team,” Patrick explained. “If you look at some of our history, even guys that looked like rentals when we acquired them, a lot of times we’ll end up signing them to deals after. That’s a situation we’ll look at, too.”

The Capitals are expected to get a boost up front following the break with Pierre-Luc Dubois on pace to return soon after having underwent adduction surgery in early November. At the same time, they’ll be keeping an eye on Connor McMichael, who is week-to-week with an upper-body injury entering the break.

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Insider Chris Johnston had reported that Washington made an offer for Artemi Panarin, but the New York Rangers traded him to the Los Angeles Kings right before the freeze.

The Capitals play their final game before the break on Thursday as they host the Nashville Predators, and return to game action on Feb. 25 at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Trades can resume on Feb. 22 until the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6 at 3 p.m. ET, where Patrick will likely see more names on the block.