Kyle Okposo congratulates John Tavares on his Saturday goal. (Andy Marlin, USA TODAY Sports)

CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS: An earlier version of this story included the wrong record for the New York Islanders. It is 14-6.

It hasn’t been this much fun being a New York Islanders fan since the days when Billy Smith was in net, Denis Potvin was anchoring the defense and Bryan Trottier was the team’s No. 1 center.

Smith turns 64 next month, and Potvin turned 61 last month. Trottier is the youngster at 58. That tells you are long it has been.

After waylaying the Pittsburgh Penguins in a home-and-home series, the Islanders are 14-6, representing their best start since 1987-88.

This isn’t a hot team riding a wave. This could be an indication of a franchise turning the corner to becoming a contending team.

Unquestionably, there is much work to be done, but the Islanders are showing they have the essential building blocks of a contender. John Tavares,  Kyle Okposo, Brock Nelson, Frans Nielsen, Ryan Strome, Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic, Lubomir Visnovsky represent a noteworthy core group.

Jaroslav Halak’s .918 save percentage is the best save percentage the Islanders have seen from a No. 1 goalie since the days when a healthy Rick DiPietro was at his best.

Around the NHL, the Islanders are now viewed as an intriguing team, instead of the patchwork team they were for many seasons.

If the Islanders’ penalty kill was better – currently ranked 25th overall at 75.4% – the Islanders might be vying with the Montreal Canadiens to be the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference.

Scoring 3.2 goals per game, the Islanders have the NHL’s third-best offense. They are a strong 5-on-5 team. They are also rank third in the league in the number of hits per game. They averaged more than 30 hits per game.

The team’s defensive game needs improvement, but they haven’t yet lost when they took a lead into the third period. The Islanders are 7-0 when leading after two.

New York’s defense should continue to improve over the next few seasons, because the Islanders’ top two prospects, Griffin Reinhart and Ryan Pulock, are both defensemen.

However, if the Islanders want to assure their defense stays competitive, they must re-sign Boychuk. His molten competitive nature has made a major difference on the Islanders defense since he was acquired just before the start of the season.

He can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and the Islanders would take a step backward if he goes elsewhere.

It is strangely appropriate that the Islanders seem to be turning the corner to respectability in their last season in Nassau Coliseum. The team moves to Barclays Center next season in Brooklyn.

If the Islanders continue to make the strides they have made this season, it will be a new beginning for the team in more ways than one. The Islanders become like the Chicago Blackhawks, or Boston Bruins, or Detroit Red Wings – a team makes the playoffs every season.

Your games tonight

St. Louis at Winnipeg, 4:30

Montreal at N.Y. Rangers, 7

Arizona at Anaheim, 8

Chicago at Vancouver, 10

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