They are no longer chasing ghosts from 23 years ago. Instead, the Islanders are chasing the likes of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat.

That, folks, is a measurable sign of progress.

“A lot of us have been together here for a while and we were obviously very aware of the organization’s 23-year streak since winning a playoff series, so we all recognized the symbolic importance of getting that done,” John Tavares told The Post following the Islanders’ practice Monday. “But I think we’ve done a very good job of turning the page on it.

“It was great, it was great for our fans to be able to celebrate [the first-round victory over the Panthers], but that was just the second step for us, after making the playoffs. No one here is satisfied winning one round.

“Our ultimate goal is still in front of us.”

Only eight teams have a shot at winning the 2016 Stanley Cup and the Islanders are one of them. The Blackhawks are out, so are the Kings and so are the Rangers, those three teams that combined to produce an aggregate 28 series victories the previous four springs.

But the Islanders are not only in Round 2, they’re tied 1-1 with the defending Eastern Conference champion Lightning entering Tuesday’s Game 3 in Brooklyn following an opening split in Tampa Bay. Win this series and the Islanders are Early Bird Special champs … but that’s not quite the title this group is seeking.

“We have to understand what’s at stake,” said Matt Martin. “We have to understand that with eight teams left, we have to find another level.”

The Islanders chased away the ghosts of ’93 after chasing the Panthers on the scoreboard for most of the six-game, first-round matchup. Indeed, the Islanders played with a lead for just 45:55 of the series’ 559:12.

But chasing the Florida seniors was less of a task than chasing Tampa Bay’s Triplets, who sliced and diced the Rangers in last year’s conference finals. The Islanders are going to need to throw a much better brand of hockey onto the ice at Barclays than they did over the first two games in order to win three more.

“We haven’t been at our best in this series,” said Kyle Okposo. “We need to change that.”

Almost to a man, the Islanders talked about the need to be more physical against Tampa Bay’s skilled, fleet forwards. But more importantly, the Islanders need to do a much better job of having and keeping the puck against the Lightning to thus force their high-end offensive guys to play in the defensive zone.

Remember this: The Rangers scored five goals twice and seven goals once over the course of the final five games of their matchup last spring, so we know from experience the Lightning — which had both Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman in the lineup for that series — can be susceptible to the attack.

Josh Bailey, who with Okposo and Frans Nielsen predates Tavares as an Islander, could rejoin the lineup after missing the first two games of the series with an injury he sustained in the first period of Game 6 against the Panthers. That should provide a boost to an attack that has been pretty much All Tavares, All the Time. Alan Quine has been a neat story and maybe the Brooklyns would not be here without him, but Tavares doesn’t only need a winger in addition to Okposo, he needs a wingman.

“He is our catalyst and our leader,” said Martin. “But we don’t want to rely on him as much as we have been.”

When the tournament began, nobody in the NHL had gone as long without a playoff series victory as the Islanders. Qualifying for the tournament in 2015 and 2013 after having made the playoffs just five times in the previous 18 tries did represent tangible progress but not nearly enough. Hence, so much focus on escaping Round 1.

“It meant a lot to a lot of people who have been in the organization for a while and it meant a lot to our fans, so I’m not going to say that it was insignificant,” Tavares said. “But the larger meaning is that we’re still playing.”

Maybe another three — or seven — victories this spring and the story will become the ghosts of the Dynasty Era. But it is not about chasing or catching ghosts now for the Islanders.

It is about chasing and catching Johnson, Kucherov and Palat.