It’s a short breather in the schedule, but the Rangers will take it.

Following a day off Tuesday, the Blueshirts returned to the ice for a light practice Wednesday with five players taking maintenance days — defensemen Marc Staal and Tony DeAngelo, and forwards Ryan Strome, Artemi Panarin, and Pavel Buchnevich. Coach David Quinn said he expected a full practice Thursday and didn’t think any of those players would miss Friday night’s Garden match against the Maple Leafs.

“It’s been a long stretch,” Quinn said. “We’ve played a lot of hockey in a short period of time.”

The Rangers rolled into December having played eight games in 11 days, the final one being what some might dub a “schedule loss,” a 4-1 defeat to the visiting Golden Knights on Dec. 2. They then had a back-to-back, in Columbus and at home against the Canadiens, before leaving on the weeklong four-game trip out west.

That went from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, then north to San Jose, and back south to Anaheim for a Saturday matinee. After their semi-red-eye, they were greeted at home with the Predators in the Garden on Monday, when they actually had some legs and played well but lost, 5-2.

That gave them this little three-day respite, which was much needed.

Staal had blocked a shot with his surgically repaired right ankle in San Jose, and didn’t miss a game. DeAngelo has taken a couple maintenance days, as have Strome and Panarin. Buchnevich had gone through concussion protocol but returned Monday night — when he took a brutal elbow to the head from Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis, inexplicably resulting in just a two-minute minor.

But so it goes in the NHL, when few teams are healthy at this time of year.

Of course, Friday is followed by a back-to-back, a Sunday matinee at home against the Ducks and in Philadelphia Monday night, leading into the league-wide three-day dark period for Christmas. The Blueshirts come out of that with another back-to-back, Friday at home against the Hurricanes then in Toronto on Saturday, which leads right into their New Year’s trip, this time going through western Canada starting in Edmonton as 2019 turns to 2020.

For more on the Rangers, listen to the latest episode of the “Up In The Blue Seats” podcast: