At the first significant mile marker of the NHL season, things are going as well as they could be for Mathieu Darche.

The Islanders went into Wednesday’s Thanksgiving Eve match against the Bruins at 13-8-2, looking like a serious playoff contender, and the vibe shift within the organization under Darche’s tutelage has been palpable.

Much of that is down to the general manager nailing what could end up being the most consequential move of his tenure and drafting Matthew Schaefer first overall , but it doesn’t hurt that a number of other offseason moves — pushing for Emil Heineman’s inclusion in the Noah Dobson trade, retaining coach Patrick Roy and signing Jonathan Drouin among them — have, at least so far, worked out.

“What I’ve liked is the way we’ve progressed from the start,” Darch

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