The New York Islanders know how the New Jersey Devils have felt at the end of the last two regular seasons. Suffice to say the Islanders would much prefer to feel like the Devils right now, not the Devils of a year ago.

For the past few years, the New York Islanders have seemingly been in limbo. Sure, the Islanders had made the playoffs in each of the past two years, but they were first-round exits both times. Their back-to-back conference finals runs in 2020 and 2021 are only getting further away,