Barry Trotz returned to the the New York Islanders for practice Saturday after the coach was away to attend the funeral of his mother in Dauphin, Manitoba.

Iris Trotz died Jan. 1. She was 78 years old.

“It is very meaningful for a couple reasons,” Trotz said of rejoining the Islanders. “The way the organization reacted, allowing me to go home and take the necessary time, the players reaching out. And then just watching them today, the effort and the work ethic that they’ve each put in. It’s not easy, obviously, with the 10-day sort-of break. They’ve done a really good job,” said Trotz.

“I loved my mom, and some of the things that I looked back on that she did over the years molded me and my sister, just as my dad did,” Trotz said. “So any success that we’ve had as a family, I’ve had personally or my sister has, it’s from our parents. … This is the first time I’ve lost a parent, so it’s very difficult. I have a better understanding when it happens to someone else.

“I just want to thank everybody who has reached out, not only with the Islander organization. The fans and what have you reached out. It’s very heartwarming to me and comforting that we’re one big family.”

The Islanders have 54 regular-season games left, so there is time to make up ground, but they also know they must play with urgency and build off the success they were starting to have before this latest break.

“It’s just been a little bit of a different start to the season for us and we’re in a little bit of a hole, but we can’t look at the standings every day right now on break,” Nelson said. “You [can’t] get too worked up about it, but also you have to realize that once we get back into it, it’s going to be a sprint with a lot of games in a short span. So we’re going to need to get on a roll right away and bank some points.”