2006–07 New York Islanders season


The 2006–07 New York Islanders season was the 35th season in the franchise's history. They qualified for the playoffs in the last game of the regular season. They lost to the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, 4–1.

Regular season

After the Islanders' upper management cleaned out the team's front office during the 2005–06 season, owner Charles Wang needed to find a new coach and general manager. Initially, he hired Ted Nolan as coach and Neil Smith as GM, but Smith was removed after a few weeks on the job. Wang envisioned team management making decisions by committee, and Smith was uncomfortable working without the large amount of control that NHL managers usually have. Wang hired Garth Snow, who was the team's backup goalie the prior year, to take over. Pat LaFontaine, who had intended to return to the team as senior advisor to the owner, resigned the post the same day that Smith was fired. Reports indicated that LaFontaine decided the fit was not right for him after Wang ignored his advice to wait a few days before making a final decision about Smith.
Prior to Smith's firing, the Islanders made several free agent acquisitions, including defensemen Brendan Witt and Tom Poti and forwards Mike Sillinger and Chris Simon. Andy Hilbert, Sean Hill, Viktor Kozlov and Richard Park signed on after Smith was dismissed. Additionally, in a controversial move, the Islanders signed goaltender Rick DiPietro to a 15-year, $67.5 million contract, among the longest in professional sports history.
The Islanders opened the season on a losing streak, but then began to play well enough to temporarily move into first place in the Atlantic Division by December. On December 16, 2006, the Islanders traded Alexei Zhitnik to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Freddy Meyer and a conditional third round draft pick. On December 20, they then traded forward Mike York to the Flyers for forward Randy Robitaille and a fifth-round pick in 2008.
Starting at the end of December, the Islanders went on a seven-game losing streak, which ended with a victory over the Rangers. Since then, the Islanders hovered around the last playoff spot. In advance of the February NHL trade deadline, the Isles made a pair of deals with the Edmonton Oilers. On February 18, 2007, the Islanders traded defense prospect Denis Grebeshkov for defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron and a third-round pick in 2008.
Sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference at the trade deadline, the team sent a first-round draft pick and prospects Robert Nilsson and Ryan O'Marra to the Oilers for NHL All-Star Ryan Smyth and acquired Richard Zednik for a second-round pick. However, the team suffered a series of losses down the stretch. Journalists cited two reasons for the team's apparent demise: Chris Simon's suspension for striking Ryan Hollweg with his stick, and Rick DiPietro's multiple concussions, which forced him to miss several crucial games. Backup goaltender Mike Dunham had several poor showings with DiPietro out, which prompted the team to call on third-stringer Wade Dubielewicz, who fared better.
Entering into the last four games of the season, the Islanders play had improved, but a playoff spot still appeared out of reach. However, the team won each game and received some help from the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, who failed to win enough games to edge the Isles out. The Isles clinched with a shootout win over the New Jersey Devils, in which Dubielewicz poke-checked Sergei Brylin to secure the victory. The team expressed pride that they qualified because many NHL preview predictions had the Isles slated to finish at or near the bottom of the standings. They lost their first round matchup with the Buffalo Sabres, however, the NHL's best team during the regular season, in five games.

Season standings

Schedule and results

October

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
1October 5NY Islanders3 – 6PhoenixDiPietro15,3010–1–00
2October 7NY Islanders0 – 2San JoseDiPietro17,4960–2–00
3October 10NY Islanders2 – 4Los AngelesDiPietro14,3940–3–00
4October 11NY Islanders5 – 4AnaheimSODunham12,3941–3–02
5October 14Boston1 – 4NY IslandersDunham14,7322–3–04
6October 16Nashville2 – 1NY IslandersSODunham9,4312–3–15
7October 19Pittsburgh4 – 3NY IslandersOTDunham10,2582–3–26
8October 21Carolina3 – 4NY IslandersOTDiPietro12,3493–3–28
9October 26Buffalo3 – 0NY IslandersDiPietro8,8613–4–28
10October 28Florida3 – 4NY IslandersSODiPietro10,4554–4–210
11October 31Chicago2 – 5NY IslandersDiPietro8,7395–4–212

November

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
12November 2NY Islanders5 – 2New JerseyDiPietro8,2696–4–214
13November 4Atlanta4 – 1NY IslandersDiPietro12,3946–5–214
14November 6Tampa Bay5 – 1NY IslandersDunham9,6936–6–214
15November 9NY Islanders3 – 1PhiladelphiaDiPietro18,6567–6–216
16November 15NY Islanders3 – 0DallasDiPietro17,6437–7–216
17November 17NY Islanders2 – 3Tampa BaySODiPietro19,9197–7–317
18November 18NY Islanders4 – 1FloridaDunham16,8338–7–319
19November 20NY Islanders2 – 4TorontoDiPietro19,3928–8–319
20November 22Carolina2 – 4NY IslandersDiPietro12,4199–8–321
21November 24Pittsburgh1 – 3NY IslandersDiPietro15,62510–8–323
22November 25Washington1 – 4NY IslandersDiPietro13,21411–8–325
23November 28NY Islanders2 – 3PittsburghDiPietro17,08212–8–327
24November 30Philadelphia3 – 2NY IslandersDunham10,28012–9–327

December

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
25December 2NY Islanders5 – 3PittsburghDiPietro17,02513–9–329
26December 3NY Islanders7 – 4NY RangersDiPietro18,20014–9–331
27December 5Ottawa4 – 2NY IslandersDunham8,74114–10–331
28December 7Montreal4 – 2NY IslandersDiPietro9,55114–11–331
29December 9Florida4 – 5NY IslandersSODiPietro12,82515–11–333
30December 15NY Islanders4 – 7PittsburghDiPietro17,02815–12–333
31December 16Atlanta0 – 6NY IslandersDiPietro10,45216–12–335
32December 19NY Islanders4 – 3NY RangersDiPietro18,20017–12–337
33December 22NY Islanders1 – 5CarolinaDiPietro18,25217–13–337
34December 23Columbus0 – 4NY IslandersDiPietro11,79718–13–339
35December 26NY Rangers0 – 2NY IslandersDiPietro16,23419–13–341
36December 27NY Islanders0 – 2OttawaDiPietro20,19219–14–341
37December 30New Jersey2 – 0NY IslandersDiPietro16,23419–15–341

January

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
38January 1NY Islanders1 – 3BuffaloDiPietro18,69019–16–341
39January 2Philadelphia3 – 2NY IslandersDunham10,46119–17–341
40January 4NY Islanders3 – 4New JerseyDiPietro12,52919–18–341
41January 6NY Islanders2 – 4CarolinaDiPietro18,63919–19–341
42January 9NY Islanders5 – 3NY RangersDiPietro18,20020–19–343
43January 11NY Islanders5 – 4BostonSODiPietro13,52921–19–345
44January 13New Jersey2 – 1NY IslandersOTDiPietro16,23421–19–446
45January 15Tampa Bay4 – 3NY IslandersDiPietro15,42621–20–446
46January 16NY Islanders2 – 5PittsburghDunham16,95821–21–446
47January 18NY Islanders4 – 2PhiladelphiaDiPietro19,11822–21–448
48January 26NY Islanders4 – 5AtlantaOTDunham18,08922–21–549
49January 27Buffalo3 – 5NY IslandersDiPietro15,21823–21–551
50January 30Detroit3 – 4NY IslandersOTDiPietro12,32223–21–652

February

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
51February 1NY Islanders5 – 2AtlantaDunham13,54324–21–654
52February 3NY Islanders4 – 2MontrealDiPietro21,27325–21–656
53February 4NY Islanders1 – 2WashingtonSODiPietro12,50825–21–757
54February 7Philadelphia0 – 2NY IslandersDiPietro10,22926–21–759
55February 8NY Islanders0 – 2New JerseyDiPietro10,11026–22–759
56February 10NY Islanders3 – 4BostonSODiPietro16,85426–21–860
57February 13NY Islanders3 – 2TorontoSODiPietro19,60027–21–862
58February 15Boston1 – 4NY IslandersDiPietro10,07928–22–864
59February 17New Jersey2 – 0NY IslandersDiPietro15,22328–23–864
60February 19Pittsburgh5 – 6NY IslandersDiPietro15,47229–23–866
61February 22Toronto2 – 3NY IslandersSODiPietro11,75930–23–868
62February 24Montreal2 – 3NY IslandersDiPietro16,23431–23–870
63February 27Philadelphia5 – 6NY IslandersDiPietro11,44332–23–872

March

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
64March 1St. Louis3 – 2NY IslandersOTDiPietro12,26332–23–973
65March 3NY Islanders6 – 2WashingtonDiPietro16,45333–23–975
66March 5NY Islanders1 – 2NY RangersSODiPietro18,20033–23–1076
67March 8NY Rangers2 – 1NY IslandersDiPietro16,23433–24–1076
68March 10Washington2 – 5NY IslandersDiPietro15,76434–24–1078
69March 13NY Islanders3 – 5MontrealDunham21,27334–25–1078
70March 15NY Islanders1 – 5OttawaDunham19,98934–26–1078
71March 17NY Islanders5 – 8FloridaDunham17,07834–27–1078
72March 20NY Islanders3 – 4Tampa BayOTDiPietro19,91634–27–1179
73March 22Pittsburgh1 – 3NY IslandersDiPietro14,57435–27–1181
74March 24NY Islanders4 – 3PhiladelphiaDiPietro19,42236–27–1183
75March 25NY Islanders1 – 2NY RangersOTDiPietro16,23436–27–1284
76March 27New Jersey2 – 3NY IslandersDunham13,33736–28–1284
77March 30NY Islanders4 – 6BuffaloDunham18,69036–29–1284
78March 31Ottawa5 – 2NY IslandersDubielewicz15,59836–30–1284

April

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
79April 3NY Rangers2 – 3NY IslandersSODubielewicz15,59137–30–1286
80April 5Toronto2 – 5NY IslandersDubielewicz14,35238–30–1288
81April 7NY Islanders4 – 2PhiladelphiaDubielewicz19,41239–30–1290
82April 8NY Islanders3 – 2New JerseySODubielewicz18,11140–30–1292

The New York Islanders earned the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (1) [Buffalo Sabres]

Buffalo wins series 4–1
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 12NY Islanders1 – 4BuffaloDubielewicz18,6900 – 1
2April 14NY Islanders3 – 2BuffaloDiPietro18,6901 – 1
3April 16Buffalo3 – 2NY IslandersDiPietro16,2341 – 2
4April 18Buffalo4 – 2NY IslandersDiPietro16,2341 – 3
5April 20NY Islanders3 – 4BuffaloDiPietro18,6901 – 4

Player stats

Regular season

;Scoring
PlayerPosGPGAPtsPIM+/-PPGSHGGWG
C824029693411407
LW8127325946-12712
C822633594651123
C812526512812504
C58183250446503
D786384474-1601
RW77201535225512
C/LW81820283410001
LW671017277517200
RW82101626334022
D81124251106000
RW80111223633002
C506172322-2101
D2361521105401
D43215174019000
LW1851015140100
D511131423-3000
D811131413114000
LW32671314-9201
D3029114013001
C4846103413010
LW2327966000
D5106628-10000
RW101232-2000
D35033240000
C151120-2001
G62022240000
D31015-2000
G1901100000
D1101140000
C1100080000
C10000-1000
RW300000000
G800000000
D500000000
LW100000000

;Goaltending
PlayerMINGPWLT/OTGAGAASOSASVSV%
362762321991562.58519171761.919
3798410132.060198185.934
979194103613.740552491.889
Team:4985824030122302.77526672437.914

Playoffs

;Scoring
PlayerPosGPGAPtsPIM+/-PPGSHGGWG
LW513441000
RW530301000
C51232-2000
LW512300000
D503360000
D511261101
D51122-1000
D51122-2000
C51122-1100
C50222-2000
C50228-5000
RW51010-3000
RW501120000
D50116-3000
G400000000
G100000000
D10000-2000
C/LW50002-1000
D40000-1000
C500000000
RW50008-1000

;Goaltending
PlayerMINGPWLGAGAASOSASVSV%
236413133.310127114.898
5910144.0703531.886
Team:295514173.460162145.895

Transactions

Trades

Acquisitions

Departures

Draft picks

The Islanders' picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Round#PlayerPositionNationalityCollege/Junior/Club Team
17Kyle OkposoRight WingDes Moines Buccaneers
260Jesse JoensuuWingAssat
370Robin FigrenWingFrolunda HC
4100Rhett RakhshaniRight WingUniversity of Denver /US National Team Development Program
4108Jase WesloskyGoalieSherwood Park Crusaders
4115Tomas MarcinkoCenterHC Kosice
4119Doug RogersCenterSaint Sebastian's School
5141Kim JohanssonWingMalmo Redhawks Jr.
6160Andrew MacDonaldDefencemanMoncton Wildcats
6171Brian DayRight WingGovernor Dummer
6173Stefan RidderwallGoalieDjurgardens IF Jr.
7190Troy MattilaLeft WingSpringfield Jr. Blues