Banging on the brakes for a break because of a COVID-19 outbreak - them's the breaks as far as Nashville Predators coach John Hynes and his team are concerned.

With eight players and the entire four-man coaching staff on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list, the team shut down operations a week before Christmas and a day after winning their seventh game in a row.

Most of those players and all the coaches returned, but captain Roman Josi, Colton Sissons and Tommy Novak were added to the protocol list Monday.

Hynes and his coaching staff, along with some of his players, returned to the ice Sunday for their first practice in some time in preparation for their scheduled return to the regular-season schedule Wednesday (6 p.m. CT) at the Washington Capitals.

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Hynes said his symptoms weren't bad. But his return carries with it expected uncertainty, such as which players might be available. It also carries with it stricter COVID protocols from the league and the return of taxi squads, which were used last season.

"There's a lot of moving parts as far as who's ready and who's not ready," he said Monday, when his team was scheduled to be playing in Dallas but instead practiced after the league postponed the game. "We feel like whoever is going to be in the lineup against Washington will be ready to play at the level we need them to."

The league postponed three more games on Monday, bringing the season total to 70 coming out of an extended Christmas break that saw it shut down early because of rising COVID numbers.

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Hynes coached virtually for two games while he and his staff were out and Milwaukee Admirals coach Karl Taylor and his assistants filled in.

Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm said it was nice to be back on the ice. He also added that it was nice to be able to be a "dad" for the last week-plus.

"As we've seen, it's hard to contain this virus," he said. "It's something we're probably going to have to deal with for years to come as a society.

"We're kind of back on square one, knowing this virus is still around us. We still need to protect ourselves and our loved ones."

Hynes also learned during his time away from the team that he wouldn't be coaching in his first Olympics, after the league and the players' association agreed to skip the 2022 Games in Beijing because of the havoc on schedules created by COVID.

He called the news "disappointing," but said the decision was understandable under the circumstances.

"The other side of it is, we're still in a pandemic," he said. "It's important for all of us to be able to roll with the punches. There's going to be goods and bads; really control what you can control and try to make the best of every situation."

Reach Paul Skrbina at pskrbina@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @PaulSkrbina.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators coaching staff, team back from COVID-19 protocols