Rick Bowness was removed from NHL COVID-19 protocol and coached the Stars in a 5-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
Bowness rejoined the Stars after a false positive COVID-19 test.
"I get it," Bowness told the Stars website. "The safety of our people is first and foremost on everyone's mind. NHL protocol is very strict for a reason. You see what is going on in Vancouver (19 players on COVID-19 protocol list) and some of these other places, so I get it. A false positive is very frustrating, but it happens."
The 66-year-old was in quarantine in North Carolina after he was pulled before the third period of a 1-0 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday due to protocol. Assistant John Stevens replaced Bowness against the Hurricanes and coached the Stars in a 4-2 loss to the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
"I left the coaches alone," Bowness said. "If you're not on the bench, it's an easy game from the TV. That's one thing I realized last night: 'Man, this is an easy game to play when you're watching.' It's not so easy when you're on the ice or behind the bench."
The Stars (14-14-10) are sixth in the eight-team Discover Central Division. The top four teams will make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"Listen we know where we are," Bowness said. "We've put ourselves here and we can't keep saying, 'We're close, we're close.' We're going to run out of games here unless we get a little bit of a streak going. [The Nashville Predators are] three games above .500, we're one game below .500. Right now, we're behind and we have to win some games to close that gap. You have to help yourself, and we're in position to help ourselves." -- Tracey Myers