IT has been a long wait for Islanders fans; until last weekend, the New York team had not won a playoff series in some time. But with a double-overtime goal on Sunday to take win number four against the Florida Panthers, the Isles clinched the best-of-seven series and advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs — something they had not accomplished in 23 years.

Moving on to the next round in the playoffs, let alone snapping a two-decade-long dry spell, is cause enough for celebration — but fans have another reason to be cheery. With captain John Tavares beginning to blossom into the future hall of famer they hoped he would, and an unlikely playoff hero emerging in inexperienced netminder Thomas Greiss, it looks like the Isles might not be done.

Granted, they did not eliminate the Panthers with four crushing victories — each was decided by a single-goal margin, and three were snatched in overtime — but their series win was more than just a fluke. While Tavares leads the playoffs with 11 points, they also had some pretty balanced scoring through the first round, with good contributions from the back-end. And it was not lucky bounces keeping the puck out of their net — it was Greiss’ elite focus and athleticism.

Their second-round series opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday did little to dampen optimism, with the Islanders taking a 5-3 win in Tampa to steal home-ice advantage and put the Bolts on the back foot. It is a pairing that the Isles must feel some confidence about, having dominated much of the season series between the two. And, with Lightning talisman Steven Stamkos still out following surgery for blood clots, you could argue that it is a weaker Tampa side than they faced throughout the regular season.

After so many painfully disappointing seasons for the Islanders, they could become the feelgood story of these playoffs. But while it is a real possibility that they manage to hold on to their momentum and climb over the Bolts, they really do not stand any chance against either of the other two conference final hopefuls.

After comfortably eliminating the New York Rangers in five games, the Pittsburgh Penguins face the regular-season champions, the Washington Capitals. It is a match-up many wish could have been saved for the conference finals, with two of the sport’s greatest superstars in Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin going head-to-head.

Scoring 50 goals this year — the seventh time he has hit that marker — Ovechkin is having another amazing season. Crosby, after a slow start, had a sparkling second half of the regular season — and he just kept going. He is on 74 points through his last 59 games, including eight during the Penguins’ series against the Rangers.

The two superstar captains generate hype whenever they play, and the opportunity to see them duel it out in a best-of-seven does not come about all that often. It is going to be a fantastic series, and surely one that will produce the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup finalist.

Out west, the final four is missing some notable contenders. Defending Stanley Cup champions Chicago Blackhawks were edged out in seven games by the St Louis Blues; and the LA Kings, who lifted the cup in two of the last four years, took only a single game from the San Jose Sharks before being eliminated 4-1. Pacific Conference winners Anaheim Ducks also find themselves out of the running.

After subjecting the Ducks to a bitter case of repeated history, the Nashville Predators have to face a Sharks side that dominated their series again. Key to Nashville’s success or failure will be the performance of netminder Pekka Rinne, who was inconsistent through the first round.

The other western pairing sees the electric offence of the Dallas Stars come up against the grinding, four-line play of Central Division rivals St Louis. It will be a tight series but the lack of an obvious starter in net for Dallas could be the deciding factor.

Both of the Western Conference semi-finals series get under way tonight.