Lane Lambert’s first concern was for Barry Trotz, his longtime friend and boss. And then, the associate coach settled into his temporary assignment of running the Islanders’ bench.
Trotz was absent from Saturday afternoon’s 3-2 overtime win over the Oilers at UBS Arena for non-COVID-19 personal reasons.
Lambert, who has served on Trotz’s staffs for four seasons with the Islanders, four with the Capitals and three with the Predators, worked the bench with just assistant Jim Hiller instead of the usual three coaches. Assistant John Gruden and goalie coach Piero Greco both entered COVID-19 protocol on Saturday.