Once upon a December, these two teams met with the Columbus Blue Jackets on a record-defying win streak and the New York Islanders spiraling into what looked like inevitable season doom.
That game, a 6-2 Isles loss, wasn’t as bad as the score showed but the result was just the same.
Once upon a January, the same two teams met again except they were not quite the same team. The Isles, already showing mild signs of improvement under Jack Capuano, had found a completely new life after the change was made to interim head coach Doug Weight.