Cool :')

Yes it is because you have not pealyd in a while. When I was forced to sit out a few months I had the same issues when restarting ice. It was really bad on the face offs. But it does go away. It just takes time . Stretching does help , But it is a matter of your muscles getting used to skating and game style again . Some core exercises can help. But it will go away as soon as your body gets used to playing again .

Wow, this is in every rspeect what I needed to know.