Barry Trotz given warm welcome in Washington

Former Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz, making his first visit to Capital One Arena as coach of the New York Islanders, was greeted with a standing ovation Friday night when a video tribute in his honor played during the first break in action.

Trotz saluted the fans throughout the video, which ended by showing him and the Capitals hoisting the Stanley Cup in June.

Trotz turned to the Islanders bench and said, "That's us this year boys!"

The Caps already had played Trotz's Islanders at Barclays Center on Nov. 26; Washington won, 4-1. This time, the Islanders came out on top, winning Friday, 2-0. 

Talking Thursday about his return, Trotz recalled that game and said, "That was closure. I'm an Islander.

"I appreciate the ownership, the fans, the players and the trainers, coaches and all the people that were involved in the success we had together, but we're going to try and go in there and get two points. I'm going to treat it like any other game."

Trotz coached the Capitals for four seasons, in which the team went 205-89-34 -- the best record in the NHL in that span. He won the Jack Adams Award as the league's best coach in 2016. But Trotz resigned as Capitals coach in mid-June, less than two weeks after winning the Cup, due to a contract dispute.

Trotz, the hottest free-agent coach on the market, quickly landed a job with the Islanders, who are also in the Metropolitan Division.

The Islanders have been one of the surprise stories of the NHL season. With Friday's win, they leapfrogged the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Caps and moved into first place in the Metropolitan Division.