After soaking up the sun during the Olympic break, the Columbus Blue Jackets are back on the ice and turning their focus to a critical stretch run.

Forward Adam Fantilli said he spent part of the break in the Bahamas before returning to Michigan. “I started off with six days in the Bahamas, then flew back to Ann Arbor to watch my brother play and hung out for a couple days before driving back yesterday,” Fantilli said.

Defenseman Dante Fabbro also headed to the Bahamas. “I went down to the Bahamas with my fiancée and a buddy of mine who plays in Nashville. We enjoyed the sun and got out of the cold,” Fabbro said.

The time away is over, and the Blue Jackets held their first practice in 13 days as they begin what coach Rick Bowness is treating like a mini training camp.

“Big emphasis was getting our legs back under us and feeling the puck again. The pace was great. It’s a good feeling coming back to the rink for this last push,” Fabbro said.

Bowness said he liked what he saw in the first session back. “I was very encouraged. A lot of jump. The guys were anxious to get back,” he said.

Bowness said the team plans to build intensity over the next two weeks. “Each day we’ll ramp it up a little more. We’ve got a couple tough practices coming up. We want to be ready,” he said.

The break came at an awkward time for Columbus, which had won 11 of its previous 12 games before the pause. Still, Bowness said the focus is on restarting quickly. “We wish we could’ve kept playing, but we knew it was coming. Now it’s about coming out of the gate hard,” he said.

The Blue Jackets’ first two games back will come against the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders, two teams Columbus is trying to catch in the standings.

“They know what we’re up against. We’re still chasing — and we’re going to keep chasing until we see that X beside our name,” Bowness said.

With 26 games left, Fantilli said the urgency is clear. “We want to get right back to where we were — not miss a beat. Every single one matters. We missed by two points last year, and that still leaves a bitter taste,” he said.