The Bruins played their final game before a two-week break for the Four Nations Faceoff on Saturday, ending this segment of the schedule with a painful 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at the Garden.

Whether they have the same roster when they reconvene for the next game against the Anaheim Ducks at the Garden on Feb. 22 remains to be seen.

While the league will essentially shut down for the international tournament, teams will still be allowed to trade players. And teams have gotten a jump on March 7 deadline, with the big Mikko Rantanen-Martin Necas deal between Carolina and Colorado as well as several other smaller deals happening.

team president Cam Neely and GM Don Sweeney have talked about the possibility of a “retool” and “a different path,” which would most likely mean that, instead of going after some top-end talent at the deadline, they could make a few of their own players available.

Just last Wednesday while being interviewed in New York by the TNT crew, Sweeney gave the impression that he had not yet made up is mind which direction he was going to take. But there are not too many opportunities for data collecting left. When they return from the break, the B’s have just six games left before the deadline.

They should get one big piece back for the Anaheim game when Hampus Lindholm, out with a broken bone in his knee since Nov. 12, is expected to return. Lindholm was having a promising season when he was lost to the lineup when he blocked a shot in St. Louis. How much can he change the trajectory of the season? That’s tough to say.

The B’s may be hovering around a playoff spot — in one day, out the next — but their post-break schedule is daunting. In March, the B’s play 10 of their 14 games on the road. Considering they’re 1-8-1 away from the Garden, one would have to think their chances of making the postseason are not promising unless they figure out how to win away from home.

B’s interim coach Joe Sacco was asked before Saturday’s game if he felt the team had done enough to tell management to add instead of selling. He wisely sidestepped that potential landmine.

“Our job as a staff and the guys in the room is just to keep pushing and try and play the best hockey we’re capable of playing game in and game out,” said Sacco. “We’re in the thick of things here right now. You look at the standings, there’s six, maybe seven teams that are in the wild card/third spot in the division right now. That’s really our focus and that will continue to be our focus moving forward.”

While players like UFAs Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau and RFA Morgan Geekie are the most logical pieces to be moved — if it comes to that — by virtue of their contract status, the buzz around Brad Marchand won’t go away as long as he remains without a contract extension. While it seemed unthinkable at the start of the season when hopes were high for this team — it’s still hard to picture him in a different uniform — management hasn’t done anything to quell that chatter.

And who knows? If Marchand rips it up in Four Nations while playing with elite talent, maybe that pumps up his value to the point a leading contender presents a proposal to Sweeney that GM cannot refuse.

These will be interesting days for this organization, to be sure.

Wahlstrom returns

Oliver Wahlstrom drew back into the lineup on Saturday. He had just one goal and one assist in his 14 games as a Bruin. Brazeau, who has hit a cold stretch, came out of the lineup. He does not have a point in eight games and has not scored a goal in 13 games.

Sacco spoke on Friday about what Brazeau needs to do to regain his effectiveness.

“Braz is a guy that, a lot of it is who he’s playing with and how his linemates are doing as well. But he’s a very effective player from the top of the circles down. That’s his strength, getting to the net, making plays in tight areas, along the net front and goal line, in the corners with the ability to hang onto pucks and use his size,” said Sacco. “That’s an area where he has to be really counted on to help to not force plays from behind the net, not try to hope that there’s someone in the slot. When we do that, we’ve got to start backchecking, we’re expending energy tracking back into our zone instead of holding on to the puck. Braz has to be good from the top of the circles down, responsible in his own zone. And the biggest thing is moving his feet. He’s a big guy, he’s got to skate, he’s got to move his feet consistently.”

Wahlstrom, meanwhile, made a mistake in coverage on Vegas’ tying goal in the third period and finished with no shots on net in 9:18 of ice time.

Lucky 13

David Pastrnak extended his point streak to 13 games with his assist on Morgan Geekie’s second-period goal. He’s got a ways to go before he sets the franchise mark, held by Bronco Horvath (22 games set in 1959-60).