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 for the first time since 2004. They lost to the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, 4–1.

2006–07 New York Islanders
Division	4th Atlantic
Conference	8th Eastern
2006–07 record	40–30–12
Home record	22–13–6
Road record	18–17–6
Goals for	248
Goals against	240
Team information
General manager	Garth Snow
Coach	Ted Nolan
Captain	Alexei Yashin
Alternate captains	Mike Sillinger Brendan Witt
Arena	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Average attendance	12,886 (capacity 16,234)
Team leaders
Goals	Jason Blake (40)
Assists	Tom Poti (38)
Points	Jason Blake (69)
Penalty minutes	Brendan Witt (131)
Plus/minus	Radek Martinek (+19)
Wins	Rick DiPietro (32)
Goals against average	Wade Dubielewicz (2.06)

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 (GM). 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.

Coming 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

Atlantic Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	New Jersey Devils	82	49	24	9	216	201	107
2	5	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	47	24	11	277	246	105
3	6	New York Rangers	82	42	30	10	242	216	94
4	8	New York Islanders	82	40	30	12	248	240	92
5	15	Philadelphia Flyers	82	22	48	12	214	303	56

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Eastern Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	P - Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	53	22	7	308	242	113
2	Y - New Jersey Devils	AT	82	49	24	9	216	201	107
3	Y - Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	43	28	11	246	245	97
4	X - Ottawa Senators	NE	82	48	25	9	288	222	105
5	X - Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	47	24	11	277	246	105
6	X - New York Rangers	AT	82	42	30	10	242	216	94
7	X - Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	44	33	5	253	261	93
8	X - New York Islanders	AT	82	40	30	12	248	240	92
8.5
9	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	40	31	11	258	269	91
10	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	42	34	6	245	256	90
11	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	40	34	8	241	253	88
12	Florida Panthers	SE	82	35	31	16	247	257	86
13	Boston Bruins	NE	82	35	41	6	219	289	76
14	Washington Capitals	SE	82	28	40	14	235	286	70
15	Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	22	48	12	214	303	56

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Playoffs

Main article: 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs

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

Schedule and results

Regular season

2006–07 regular season
October: 5–4–2 (home: 4–1–2; road: 1–3–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 1 October 5 NY Islanders 3 – 6 Phoenix DiPietro 15,301 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 7 NY Islanders 0 – 2 San Jose DiPietro 17,496 0–2–0 0 Recap 3 October 10 NY Islanders 2 – 4 Los Angeles DiPietro 14,394 0–3–0 0 Recap 4 October 11 NY Islanders 5 – 4 Anaheim SO Dunham 12,394 1–3–0 2 Recap 5 October 14 Boston 1 – 4 NY Islanders Dunham 14,732 2–3–0 4 Recap 6 October 16 Nashville 2 – 1 NY Islanders SO Dunham 9,431 2–3–1 5 Recap 7 October 19 Pittsburgh 4 – 3 NY Islanders OT Dunham 10,258 2–3–2 6 Recap 8 October 21 Carolina 3 – 4 NY Islanders OT DiPietro 12,349 3–3–2 8 Recap 9 October 26 Buffalo 3 – 0 NY Islanders DiPietro 8,861 3–4–2 8 Recap 10 October 28 Florida 3 – 4 NY Islanders SO DiPietro 10,455 4–4–2 10 Recap 11 October 31 Chicago 2 – 5 NY Islanders DiPietro 8,739 5–4–2 12 Recap
November: 7–5–1 (home: 3–3–0; road: 4–2–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 12 November 2 NY Islanders 5 – 2 New Jersey DiPietro 8,269 6–4–2 14 Recap 13 November 4 Atlanta 4 – 1 NY Islanders DiPietro 12,394 6–5–2 14 Recap 14 November 6 Tampa Bay 5 – 1 NY Islanders Dunham 9,693 6–6–2 14 Recap 15 November 9 NY Islanders 3 – 1 Philadelphia DiPietro 18,656 7–6–2 16 Recap 16 November 15 NY Islanders 3 – 0 Dallas DiPietro 17,643 7–7–2 16 Recap 17 November 17 NY Islanders 2 – 3 Tampa Bay SO DiPietro 19,919 7–7–3 17 Recap 18 November 18 NY Islanders 4 – 1 Florida Dunham 16,833 8–7–3 19 Recap 19 November 20 NY Islanders 2 – 4 Toronto DiPietro 19,392 8–8–3 19 Recap 20 November 22 Carolina 2 – 4 NY Islanders DiPietro 12,419 9–8–3 21 Recap 21 November 24 Pittsburgh 1 – 3 NY Islanders DiPietro 15,625 10–8–3 23 Recap 22 November 25 Washington 1 – 4 NY Islanders DiPietro 13,214 11–8–3 25 Recap 23 November 28 NY Islanders 2 – 3 Pittsburgh DiPietro 17,082 12–8–3 27 Recap 24 November 30 Philadelphia 3 – 2 NY Islanders Dunham 10,280 12–9–3 27 Recap
December: 7–6–0 (home: 4–3–0; road: 3–3–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 25 December 2 NY Islanders 5 – 3 Pittsburgh DiPietro 17,025 13–9–3 29 Recap 26 December 3 NY Islanders 7 – 4 NY Rangers DiPietro 18,200 14–9–3 31 Recap 27 December 5 Ottawa 4 – 2 NY Islanders Dunham 8,741 14–10–3 31 Recap 28 December 7 Montreal 4 – 2 NY Islanders DiPietro 9,551 14–11–3 31 Recap 29 December 9 Florida 4 – 5 NY Islanders SO DiPietro 12,825 15–11–3 33 Recap 30 December 15 NY Islanders 4 – 7 Pittsburgh DiPietro 17,028 15–12–3 33 Recap 31 December 16 Atlanta 0 – 6 NY Islanders DiPietro 10,452 16–12–3 35 Recap 32 December 19 NY Islanders 4 – 3 NY Rangers DiPietro 18,200 17–12–3 37 Recap 33 December 22 NY Islanders 1 – 5 Carolina DiPietro 18,252 17–13–3 37 Recap 34 December 23 Columbus 0 – 4 NY Islanders DiPietro 11,797 18–13–3 39 Recap 35 December 26 NY Rangers 0 – 2 NY Islanders DiPietro 16,234 19–13–3 41 Recap 36 December 27 NY Islanders 0 – 2 Ottawa DiPietro 20,192 19–14–3 41 Recap 37 December 30 New Jersey 2 – 0 NY Islanders DiPietro 16,234 19–15–3 41 Recap
January: 4–6–3 (home: 1–2–2; road: 3–4–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 38 January 1 NY Islanders 1 – 3 Buffalo DiPietro 18,690 19–16–3 41 Recap 39 January 2 Philadelphia 3 – 2 NY Islanders Dunham 10,461 19–17–3 41 Recap 40 January 4 NY Islanders 3 – 4 New Jersey DiPietro 12,529 19–18–3 41 Recap 41 January 6 NY Islanders 2 – 4 Carolina DiPietro 18,639 19–19–3 41 Recap 42 January 9 NY Islanders 5 – 3 NY Rangers DiPietro 18,200 20–19–3 43 Recap 43 January 11 NY Islanders 5 – 4 Boston SO DiPietro 13,529 21–19–3 45 Recap 44 January 13 New Jersey 2 – 1 NY Islanders OT DiPietro 16,234 21–19–4 46 Recap 45 January 15 Tampa Bay 4 – 3 NY Islanders DiPietro 15,426 21–20–4 46 Recap 46 January 16 NY Islanders 2 – 5 Pittsburgh Dunham 16,958 21–21–4 46 Recap 47 January 18 NY Islanders 4 – 2 Philadelphia DiPietro 19,118 22–21–4 48 Recap 48 January 26 NY Islanders 4 – 5 Atlanta OT Dunham 18,089 22–21–5 49 Recap 49 January 27 Buffalo 3 – 5 NY Islanders DiPietro 15,218 23–21–5 51 Recap 50 January 30 Detroit 3 – 4 NY Islanders OT DiPietro 12,322 23–21–6 52 Recap
February: 9–2–2 (home: 6–1–0; road: 3–1–2) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 51 February 1 NY Islanders 5 – 2 Atlanta Dunham 13,543 24–21–6 54 Recap 52 February 3 NY Islanders 4 – 2 Montreal DiPietro 21,273 25–21–6 56 Recap 53 February 4 NY Islanders 1 – 2 Washington SO DiPietro 12,508 25–21–7 57 Recap 54 February 7 Philadelphia 0 – 2 NY Islanders DiPietro 10,229 26–21–7 59 Recap 55 February 8 NY Islanders 0 – 2 New Jersey DiPietro 10,110 26–22–7 59 Recap 56 February 10 NY Islanders 3 – 4 Boston SO DiPietro 16,854 26–21–8 60 Recap 57 February 13 NY Islanders 3 – 2 Toronto SO DiPietro 19,600 27–21–8 62 Recap 58 February 15 Boston 1 – 4 NY Islanders DiPietro 10,079 28–22–8 64 Recap 59 February 17 New Jersey 2 – 0 NY Islanders DiPietro 15,223 28–23–8 64 Recap 60 February 19 Pittsburgh 5 – 6 NY Islanders DiPietro 15,472 29–23–8 66 Recap 61 February 22 Toronto 2 – 3 NY Islanders SO DiPietro 11,759 30–23–8 68 Recap 62 February 24 Montreal 2 – 3 NY Islanders DiPietro 16,234 31–23–8 70 Recap 63 February 27 Philadelphia 5 – 6 NY Islanders DiPietro 11,443 32–23–8 72 Recap
March: 4–7–4 (home: 2–3–1; road: 2–4–3) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 64 March 1 St. Louis 3 – 2 NY Islanders OT DiPietro 12,263 32–23–9 73 Recap 65 March 3 NY Islanders 6 – 2 Washington DiPietro 16,453 33–23–9 75 Recap 66 March 5 NY Islanders 1 – 2 NY Rangers SO DiPietro 18,200 33–23–10 76 Recap 67 March 8 NY Rangers 2 – 1 NY Islanders DiPietro 16,234 33–24–10 76 Recap 68 March 10 Washington 2 – 5 NY Islanders DiPietro 15,764 34–24–10 78 Recap 69 March 13 NY Islanders 3 – 5 Montreal Dunham 21,273 34–25–10 78 Recap 70 March 15 NY Islanders 1 – 5 Ottawa Dunham 19,989 34–26–10 78 Recap 71 March 17 NY Islanders 5 – 8 Florida Dunham 17,078 34–27–10 78 Recap 72 March 20 NY Islanders 3 – 4 Tampa Bay OT DiPietro 19,916 34–27–11 79 Recap 73 March 22 Pittsburgh 1 – 3 NY Islanders DiPietro 14,574 35–27–11 81 Recap 74 March 24 NY Islanders 4 – 3 Philadelphia DiPietro 19,422 36–27–11 83 Recap 75 March 25 NY Islanders 1 – 2 NY Rangers OT DiPietro 16,234 36–27–12 84 Recap 76 March 27 New Jersey 2 – 3 NY Islanders Dunham 13,337 36–28–12 84 Recap 77 March 30 NY Islanders 4 – 6 Buffalo Dunham 18,690 36–29–12 84 Recap 78 March 31 Ottawa 5 – 2 NY Islanders Dubielewicz 15,598 36–30–12 84 Recap
April: 4–0–0 (home: 2–0–0; road: 2–0–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 79 April 3 NY Rangers 2 – 3 NY Islanders SO Dubielewicz 15,591 37–30–12 86 Recap 80 April 5 Toronto 2 – 5 NY Islanders Dubielewicz 14,352 38–30–12 88 Recap 81 April 7 NY Islanders 4 – 2 Philadelphia Dubielewicz 19,412 39–30–12 90 Recap 82 April 8 NY Islanders 3 – 2 New Jersey SO Dubielewicz 18,111 40–30–12 92 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2007 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (1) Buffalo Sabres – Sabres win 4–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 12 NY Islanders 1 – 4 Buffalo Dubielewicz 18,690 0 – 1 Recap 2 April 14 NY Islanders 3 – 2 Buffalo DiPietro 18,690 1 – 1 Recap 3 April 16 Buffalo 3 – 2 NY Islanders DiPietro 16,234 1 – 2 Recap 4 April 18 Buffalo 4 – 2 NY Islanders DiPietro 16,234 1 – 3 Recap 5 April 20 NY Islanders 3 – 4 Buffalo DiPietro 18,690 1 – 4 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.

			Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
55	Jason Blake	C	82	40	29	69	1	34	5	1	2	3	−2	2
81	Miroslav Satan	LW	81	27	32	59	−12	46	5	1	2	3	0	0
18	Mike Sillinger	C	82	26	33	59	5	46	5	1	1	2	−1	2
25	Viktor Kozlov	C	81	25	26	51	12	28	5	0	2	2	−2	2
79	Alexei Yashin	C	58	18	32	50	6	44	5	0	0	0	0	0
3	Tom Poti	D	78	6	38	44	−1	74	5	0	3	3	0	6
7	Trent Hunter	RW	77	20	15	35	5	22	5	3	0	3	1	0
11	Andy Hilbert	C	81	8	20	28	10	34	5	0	0	0	−1	2
12	Chris Simon	LW	67	10	17	27	17	75	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	Richard Park	RW	82	10	16	26	4	33	5	0	1	1	0	2
6	Sean Hill	D	81	1	24	25	6	110	4	0	0	0	−1	0
45	Arron Asham	RW	80	11	12	23	3	63	5	1	0	1	−3	0
27	Randy Robitaille†	C	50	6	17	23	−2	22	5	0	2	2	−5	8
47	Marc-Andre Bergeron†	D	23	6	15	21	5	10	5	1	1	2	1	6
24	Radek Martinek	D	43	2	15	17	19	40	—	—	—	—	—	—
94	Ryan Smyth†	LW	18	5	10	15	0	14	5	1	3	4	1	4
14	Chris Campoli	D	51	1	13	14	−3	23	5	1	1	2	−1	2
32	Brendan Witt	D	81	1	13	14	14	131	5	0	1	1	−3	6
16	Mike York‡	LW	32	6	7	13	−9	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
77	Alexei Zhitnik‡	D	30	2	9	11	13	40	—	—	—	—	—	—
17	Shawn Bates	C	48	4	6	10	13	34	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	Jeff Tambellini	LW	23	2	7	9	6	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
8	Bruno Gervais	D	51	0	6	6	−10	28	5	1	1	2	−2	2
20	Richard Zednik†	RW	10	1	2	3	−2	2	5	0	0	0	−1	8
44	Freddy Meyer†	D	35	0	3	3	0	24	—	—	—	—	—	—
51	Frans Nielsen	C	15	1	1	2	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	Rick DiPietro	G	62	0	2	2		24	4	0	0	0		0
49	Drew Fata†	D	3	1	0	1	−2	5	1	0	0	0	−2	0
1	Mike Dunham	G	19	0	1	1		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
38	Allan Rourke	D	11	0	1	1	0	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Eric Boguniecki†	C	11	0	0	0	0	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
27	Jeremy Colliton	C	1	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
57	Blake Comeau	RW	3	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Wade Dubielewicz	G	8	0	0	0		0	1	0	0	0		0
21	Deron Quint†	D	5	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
48	Steve Regier	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

		Regular season										Playoffs
No.	Player	GP	W	L	OT	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
39	Rick DiPietro	62	32	19	9	1917	156	2.58	.919	5	3627	4	1	3	127	13	3.30	.898	0	236
1	Mike Dunham	19	4	10	3	552	61	3.74	.889	0	979	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Wade Dubielewicz	8	4	1	0	198	13	2.06	.934	0	379	1	0	1	35	4	4.06	.886	0	59

Transactions

Trades

October 25, 2006	To New York Islanders Eric Boguniecki	To Columbus Blue Jackets Ryan Caldwell
December 16, 2006	To New York Islanders Freddy Meyer conditional 3rd round pick in 2007	To Philadelphia Flyers Alexei Zhitnik
December 20, 2006	To New York Islanders Randy Robitaille 5th round pick in 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Mike York
January 5, 2007	To New York Islanders Tomas Malec	To Ottawa Senators Matt Koalska
February 18, 2007	To New York Islanders Marc-Andre Bergeron 3rd round pick in 2008	To Edmonton Oilers Denis Grebeshkov
February 26, 2007	To New York Islanders Richard Zedník	To Washington Capitals 2nd round pick in 2007
February 27, 2007	To New York Islanders Ryan Smyth	To Edmonton Oilers Ryan O'Marra Robert Nilsson 1st round pick in 2007

Acquisitions

Player	Former Team
F Mike Sillinger	Nashville Predators
D Brendan Witt	Nashville Predators
F Andy Hilbert	Pittsburgh Penguins
D Tom Poti	New York Rangers
F Chris Simon	Calgary Flames
D Rick Berry	Nashville Predators
D Sean Hill	Florida Panthers
F Viktor Kozlov	New Jersey Devils
G Mike Dunham	Atlanta Thrashers
D Richard Park	Vancouver Canucks

Departures

Player	New Team
F Wyatt Smith	Minnesota Wild
F Eric Godard	Calgary Flames
D John Erskine	Washington Capitals
F Jeff Hamilton	Chicago Blackhawks

Draft picks

The Islanders' picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	7	Kyle Okposo	Right Wing	United States	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
2	60	Jesse Joensuu	Wing	Finland	Assat (SM-liiga)
3	70	Robin Figren	Wing	Sweden	Frölunda HC (Elitserien)
4	100	Rhett Rakhshani	Right Wing	United States	University of Denver (NCAA) /US National Team Development Program (NAHL)
4	108	Jase Weslosky	Goalie	Canada	Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)
4	115	Tomas Marcinko	Center	Slovakia	HC Košice (Slovak Extraliga)
4	119	Doug Rogers	Center	United States	Saint Sebastian's School (Independent School League)
5	141	Kim Johansson	Wing	Sweden	Malmö Redhawks Jr.
6	160	Andrew MacDonald	Defense	Canada	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
6	171	Brian Day	Right Wing	United States	Governor Dummer (Independent School League)
6	173	Stefan Ridderwall	Goalie	Sweden	Djurgardens IF Jr. (J20)
7	190	Troy Mattila	Left Wing	United States	Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)

See also

• 2006–07 NHL season