Islanders head coach Barry Trotz returns to game action

New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz is back behind the bench for game action Monday night after a personal leave of absence from the team for the death of his mother and clearing COVID protocol, reports Newsday’s Andrew Gross.

The Isles placed Trotz in COVID protocol on Jan. 11, with him not getting a chance to coach the team after returning from his leave of absence. The last Islanders game Trotz coached was against Buffalo on Dec. 30th, and he took his leave of absence the next day.

However, due to a rash of postponements, Trotz has been absent only for the Islanders' last three games. Assistant coach Lane Lambert took over head-coaching duties in the process.

With Trotz back at the helm, the Islanders continue a long road back toward a potential playoff spot. By standings points, the Isles are third from last in the Eastern Conference and 18 points behind Boston for the last wild-card spot. However, they have as many as 10 games in hand on some teams, ample room to make up some difference. The eighth-place points percentage in the conference is Washington’s .654, however, and the Islanders' .467 mark still lags far behind.