2006–07 New York Rangers season

2006–07 New York Rangers
Division	3rd Atlantic
Conference	6th Eastern
2006–07 record	42–30–10
Home record	21–15–5
Road record	21–15–5
Goals for	242
Goals against	216
Team information
General manager	Glen Sather
Coach	Tom Renney
Captain	Jaromir Jagr
Alternate captains	Brendan Shanahan Martin Straka
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Average attendance	18,200
Team leaders
Goals	Jaromir Jagr (30)
Assists	Jaromir Jagr (66)
Points	Jaromir Jagr (96)
Penalty minutes	Sean Avery (174)
Plus/minus	Marek Malik (+32)
Wins	Henrik Lundqvist (37)
Goals against average	Henrik Lundqvist (2.34)

The 2006–07 New York Rangers season saw the team attempting to build off their surprising run into the playoffs the prior year.

After being swept by their cross-river rivals the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Rangers looked to add playoff experience through off-season free agent signings. As such, the Rangers signed forward Matt Cullen and defenseman Aaron Ward from the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in addition to three-time champion Brendan Shanahan from the Detroit Red Wings. However, the Rangers lost a few big names from their strong regular season run, including assistant captain Steve Rucchin, Martin Rucinsky, Tom Poti and Petr Sykora.

Regular season

The Rangers opened regular season play at Madison Square Garden on October 5, 2006 against the Washington Capitals. In the 5–2 victory, Jaromir Jagr scored on the season's first shot, and Brendan Shanahan scored twice, to tally his 600th career NHL goal. Despite a 2–0 start, the Rangers struggled through the month of October and finished the calendar month in the midst of their west coast swing with a 5–6 record.

Things began to turn in the right direction for the team in the month of November. The Rangers began the month with wins over Anaheim and San Jose to bring their record above .500 and after an 8–3–3 month, the Rangers had a 13–9–3 record.

The Rangers rose high in December, with a five game winning streak during the second week, but then crashed hard back to Earth. A 9–2 loss at Toronto on December 16 keyed a seven game losing streak which included two heart-breaking losses in Florida (one to the Panthers in which the Rangers led 2–0 after two periods and lost 3–2 and another two nights later to the Lightning in which the Rangers led 3–0 after two and lost 4–3). The Rangers were also shutout in their final two losses of the streak. The Rangers got back on the right track and snapped their losing skid with a 4–1 win against the Capitals in their final game of 2006. This win would key a four game winning streak; however, the Rangers lost 8 of their next 11 games as they limped into February.

On February 5, 2007, in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings the Rangers acquired the agitator Sean Avery. Avery's first few games with the Rangers saw an increase in the team's intensity, but still a lack of luck in the standings. In his first game, the Rangers lost to the Devils 3–2 in a shootout, then proceeded to win three straight against the likes of Tampa Bay, Washington, and Carolina.

Against the Philadelphia Flyers on February 17, the Rangers lost not only the game (5–3) but also lost Shanahan to a concussion after an open ice collision with Mike Knuble in the third period. Shanahan would miss the next 15 games. As of the trading deadline on February 27, the Rangers were 29–27–6 and a run at a playoff berth looked unlikely.

During the month of March, the Rangers lost a number of other players to injury, including Fedor Tyutin, Marcel Hossa and Karel Rachunek all to MCL sprains. However, thanks to the stellar play of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers went 10–2–3 in the month of March to move into playoff position and on April 5, 2007, with a 3–1 win over the Montreal Canadiens, clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season. The Rangers concluded the regular season with a record of 13–3–4 after the trading deadline and 17–6–6 after the acquisition of Avery from Los Angeles.

On their final night of the regular season, the Rangers lost 2–1 to Pittsburgh, but thanks to Tampa Bay's shootout loss to Atlanta, the Rangers locked up the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the second straight year.

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.

Game log

---

October

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
1	October 5	Washington	2 – 5	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	1–0–0	2	[1]
2	October 7	NY Rangers	5 – 4	Philadelphia	SO	Lundqvist	19,798	2–0–0	4	[2]
3	October 10	Philadelphia	4 – 2	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	2–1–0	4	[3]
4	October 12	Pittsburgh	6 – 5	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	2–2–0	4	[4]
5	October 14	NY Rangers	4 – 7	Buffalo		Weekes	18,690	2–3–0	4	[5]
6	October 16	New Jersey	2 – 4	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	3–3–0	6	[6]
7	October 18	Nashville	3 – 0	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	3–4–0	6	[7]
8	October 21	NY Rangers	5 – 4	Toronto	SO	Lundqvist	19,419	4–4–0	8	[8]
9	October 25	Florida	4 – 2	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	4–5–0	8	[9]
10	October 28	NY Rangers	7 – 3	Phoenix		Lundqvist	14,513	5–5–0	10	[10]
11	October 30	NY Rangers	1 – 4	Los Angeles		Lundqvist	17,236	5–6–0	10	[11]

November

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
12	November 1	NY Rangers	4 – 3	Anaheim	OT	Weekes	13,350	6–6–0	12	[12]
13	November 2	NY Rangers	3 – 1	San Jose		Weekes	17,091	7–6–0	14	[13]
14	November 5	Buffalo	4 – 3	NY Rangers	OT	Weekes	18,200	7–6–1	15	[14]
15	November 8	NY Rangers	4 – 3	Florida	SO	Lundqvist	16,893	8–6–1	17	[15]
16	November 10	NY Rangers	5 – 2	Atlanta		Lundqvist	18,545	9–6–1	19	[16]
17	November 11	NY Rangers	1 – 3	Washington		Lundqvist	16,263	9–7–1	19	[17]
18	November 14	New Jersey	2 – 3	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	10–7–1	21	[18]
19	November 15	NY Rangers	1 – 2	Carolina		Weekes	16,080	10–8–1	21	[19]
20	November 18	NY Rangers	1 – 3	Pittsburgh		Lundqvist	16,737	10–9–1	21	[20]
21	November 19	Tampa Bay	1 – 4	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	11–9–1	23	[21]
22	November 21	Carolina	0 – 4	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	12–9–1	25	[22]
23	November 25	NY Rangers	2 – 1	Pittsburgh	OT	Lundqvist	17,134	13–9–1	27	[23]
24	November 26	Buffalo	3 – 2	NY Rangers	OT	Lundqvist	18,200	13–9–2	28	[24]
25	November 28	Atlanta	5 – 4	NY Rangers	OT	Lundqvist	18,200	13–9–3	29	[25]

December

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
26	December 1	NY Rangers	3 – 4	Buffalo	SO	Weekes	18,690	13–9–4	30	[26]
27	December 3	NY Islanders	7 – 4	NY Rangers		Weekes	18,200	13–10–4	30	[27]
28	December 7	Pittsburgh	2 – 3	NY Rangers	SO	Lundqvist	18,200	14–10–4	32	[28]
29	December 9	NY Rangers	3 – 1	Ottawa		Lundqvist	19,192	15–10–4	34	[29]
30	December 10	Florida	1 – 2	NY Rangers		Weekes	18,200	16–10–4	36	[30]
31	December 12	NY Rangers	3 – 1	Philadelphia		Weekes	19,389	17–10–4	38	[31]
32	December 14	NY Rangers	5 – 2	Dallas		Lundqvist	17,788	18–10–4	40	[32]
33	December 16	NY Rangers	2 – 9	Toronto		Lundqvist	19,468	18–11–4	40	[33]
34	December 17	New Jersey	6 – 1	NY Rangers		Weekes	18,200	18–12–4	40	[34]
35	December 19	NY Islanders	4 – 3	NY Rangers		Weekes	18,200	18–13–4	40	[35]
36	December 21	NY Rangers	2 – 3	Florida		Weekes	17,556	18–14–4	40	[36]
37	December 23	NY Rangers	3 – 4	Tampa Bay		Lundqvist	20,122	18–15–4	40	[37]
38	December 26	NY Rangers	0 – 2	NY Islanders		Lundqvist	16,234	18–16–4	40	[38]
39	December 29	NY Rangers	0 – 1	Ottawa		Lundqvist	20,214	18–17–4	40	[39]
40	December 30	Washington	1 – 4	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	19–17–4	42	[40]

January

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
41	January 2	NY Rangers	3 – 2	New Jersey	SO	Lundqvist	17,759	20–17–4	44	[41]
42	January 4	Philadelphia	2 – 3	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	21–17–4	46	[42]
43	January 6	NY Rangers	4 – 3	Montreal		Lundqvist	21,273	22–17–4	48	[43]
44	January 9	NY Islanders	5 – 3	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	22–18–4	48	[44]
45	January 11	Ottawa	6 – 4	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	22–19–4	48	[45]
46	January 13	Boston	1 – 3	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	23–19–4	50	[46]
47	January 16	NY Rangers	0 – 1	New Jersey		Lundqvist	18,096	23–20–4	50	[47]
48	January 20	Atlanta	3 – 1	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	23–21–4	50	[48]
49	January 27	NY Rangers	2 – 1	Philadelphia		Lundqvist	19,618	24–21–4	52	[49]
50	January 29	NY Rangers	6 – 1	Boston		Lundqvist	13,367	25–21–4	54	[50]
51	January 31	Toronto	2 – 1	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	25–22–4	54	[51]

February

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
52	February 3	NY Rangers	2 – 3	Tampa Bay		Lundqvist	21,354	25–23–4	54	[52]
53	February 5	Detroit	4 – 3	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	25–24–4	54	[53]
54	February 6	NY Rangers	2 – 3	New Jersey	SO	Lundqvist	16,290	25–24–5	55	[54]
55	February 9	Tampa Bay	0 – 5	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	26–24–5	57	[55]
56	February 10	NY Rangers	5 – 2	Washington		Lundqvist	18,277	27–24–5	59	[56]
57	February 15	NY Rangers	4 – 1	Carolina		Lundqvist	17,255	28–24–5	61	[57]
58	February 17	Philadelphia	5 – 3	NY Rangers		Valiquette	18,200	28–25–5	61	[58]
59	February 18	Chicago	1 – 2	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	29–25–5	63	[59]
60	February 20	NY Rangers	1 – 2	New Jersey		Lundqvist	18,537	29–26–5	63	[60]
61	February 22	New Jersey	3 – 2	NY Rangers	SO	Lundqvist	18,200	29–26–6	64	[61]
62	February 24	Columbus	3 – 2	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	29–27–6	64	[62]
63	February 27	Montreal	0 – 4	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	30–27–6	66	[63]

March

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
64	March 1	Pittsburgh	4 – 3	NY Rangers	SO	Lundqvist	18,200	30–27–7	67	[64]
65	March 3	St. Louis	2 – 3	NY Rangers	SO	Valiquette	18,200	31–27–7	69	[65]
66	March 5	NY Islanders	1 – 2	NY Rangers	SO	Lundqvist	18,200	32–27–7	71	[66]
67	March 8	NY Rangers	2 – 1	NY Islanders		Lundqvist	16,234	33–27–7	73	[67]
68	March 10	NY Rangers	2 – 3	Pittsburgh	OT	Lundqvist	17,132	33–27–8	74	[68]
69	March 11	Carolina	1 – 2	NY Rangers	SO	Lundqvist	18,200	34–27–8	76	[69]
70	March 13	Ottawa	3 – 2	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	34–28–8	76	[70]
71	March 16	NY Rangers	1 – 2	Atlanta	OT	Lundqvist	18,457	34–28–9	77	[71]
72	March 17	Boston	0 – 7	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	35–28–9	79	[72]
73	March 19	Pittsburgh	1 – 2	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	36–28–9	81	[73]
74	March 21	Philadelphia	0 – 5	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	37–28–9	83	[74]
75	March 24	NY Rangers	2 – 1	Boston	SO	Lundqvist	17,565	38–28–9	85	[75]
76	March 25	NY Rangers	2 – 1	NY Islanders	OT	Lundqvist	16,234	39–28–9	87	[76]
77	March 27	NY Rangers	4 – 6	Montreal		Valiquette	21,273	39–29–9	87	[77]
78	March 31	NY Rangers	6 – 4	Philadelphia		Lundqvist	19,555	40–29–9	89	[78]

April

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
79	April 1	Toronto	2 – 7	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	41–29–9	91	[79]
80	April 3	NY Rangers	2 – 3	NY Islanders	SO	Lundqvist	15,591	41–29–10	92	[80]
81	April 5	Montreal	1 – 3	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	42–29–10	94	[81]
82	April 7	NY Rangers	1 – 2	Pittsburgh		Lundqvist	17,132	42–30–10	94	[82]

• Green background indicates win.
• Red background indicates regulation loss.
• White background indicates overtime/shootout loss.

Playoffs

The New York Rangers ended the 2006–07 regular season as the Eastern Conference's sixth seed.

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Atlanta Thrashers

Entering the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the New York Rangers had not won a playoff game since May 18, 1997 against the Philadelphia Flyers, having lost seven consecutive playoff games in that time span. They began the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals against the Atlanta Thrashers, a team making their first playoff appearance in franchise history.

In front of a sellout crowd in Atlanta for Game 1, the Rangers struck first with a Jaromir Jagr goal 12:50 into the first period to take a 1–0 lead. Michal Rozsival added a power play goal four minutes later to extend the Ranger lead to 2–0. Atlanta's Eric Belanger tallied a power play goal in the first period's final minute to make the score 2–1 at first intermission. The Rangers held a two goal lead two other times through the remainder of the game, but Atlanta cut the deficit back to one on both occasions, with their final tally coming from former Ranger Pascal Dupuis early in the third period. Atlanta pressured for the equalizer for the final minutes but could not beat Henrik Lundqvist for a fourth goal and the Rangers prevailed 4–3. Not only was the victory the Rangers first playoff win in nearly ten years, it was also the first time the Rangers won Game 1 of a playoff series since the 1994 Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the Washington Capitals. In addition, the four goals scored by New York in Game 1 matched their four game offensive output against the New Jersey Devils from the year prior.

Atlanta switched goaltenders for Game 2, giving the nod to Johan Hedberg over Kari Lehtonen. The Rangers would strike first again, this time on a fluke goal credited to Sean Avery. Avery dumped the puck into the offensive zone from the red line, causing Hedberg to leave the crease in order to play the puck behind the net. The puck caromed off the boards in a peculiar manner and ended up in the net. After the bizarre goal, the game settled into a goaltending duel between Hedberg and Lundqvist. Atlanta would tie the game five minutes into the third period on a goal by Ilya Kovalchuk. The Rangers, however, would prevail, winning on a Brendan Shanahan goal with four minutes to play.

Up 2–0 in the series, the Rangers returned home for Game 3, and the Atlanta Thrashers returned to Kari Lehtonen in net. The switch did not work, as the Rangers struck 32 seconds into the game and would not let up from there. Jaromir Jagr tied an NHL record with three assists in the first period as Michael Nylander scored twice and Marek Malik added another to give New York a 3–0 lead after one. Rookie Ryan Callahan scored twice in the second period (the first two playoff goals of his career), Brendan Shanahan added a power play goal midway through the third period, and Nylander completed the hat trick seven minutes later to seal a 7–0 Game 3 victory. The 7–0 victory was the first playoff shutout in Henrik Lundqvist's career and the largest margin of victory in a playoff shutout in franchise history.

Atlanta switched back to Hedberg in Game 4 and struck first to take their first lead of the series with a Keith Tkachuk goal in the first period. The Rangers would respond just over a minute later with Michal Rozsival's second power play goal of the series to make the score 1–1 after one period. Atlanta would take the lead for a second time in the second period on a goal by Greg de Vries, but the Rangers would counter again, this time with a Brendan Shanahan goal to tie the game at 2–2 after two periods. Early in the third period Matt Cullen would score the eventual game winner, driving a rolling puck from the point off the crossbar. The puck bounced straight down and at first glance never crossed the goal line. After a five minute video review, the puck was clearly shown to have crossed the line in its entirety while on edge and the goal counted. Jaromir Jagr added an empty net goal late in the period to seal a 4–2 win and a series sweep. The sweep was only the third sweep of a seven-game playoff series in franchise history (the other sweeps came against the Chicago Blackhawks in 1972 and the New York Islanders in 1994).

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series	Recap
1	April 12	NY Rangers	4 – 3	Atlanta		Lundqvist	18,857	Rangers lead 1–0	[83]
2	April 14	NY Rangers	2 – 1	Atlanta		Lundqvist	18,803	Rangers lead 2–0	[84]
3	April 17	Atlanta	0 – 7	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	Rangers lead 3–0	[85]
4	April 18	Atlanta	2 – 4	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	Rangers win 4–0	[86]

Eastern Conference Semi-finals: vs. (1) Buffalo Sabres

After sweeping Atlanta in the first round, the Rangers next opponent was the Eastern Conference's top seed (and the regular season Presidents Trophy winner), the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres had been a powerful offensive team in the regular season, scoring 308 goals in the 82 games (20 more than the second place team in that department, the Ottawa Senators with 288). The Sabres had four players score 30+ goals during the season, led by Thomas Vanek with 43 in his sophomore campaign.

The series did not start well for the Rangers in western New York. Despite playing a scoreless first period, the key development in the first twenty minutes was a knee injury suffered by Ranger defenseman Michal Rozsival. Rozsival would see the ice for two shifts in the second period but could not stay in the game. As a result, the Rangers were forced to play the remainder of the game with five defensemen, a recipe for disaster against a team as talented offensively as the Sabres. Indeed, the result was a disaster for New York, as the Sabres struck for three goals in four minutes, two coming from the aforementioned Vanek, and Buffalo led 3–0 after two. The Rangers finally beat Ryan Miller halfway through the third period to cut the deficit to 3–1, thanks to a Marcel Hossa tally, but it would not be enough. Three minutes later Jason Pominville was awarded a goal on the first of several controversial video reviews in the series; the controversy in this case coming from the appearance that Pominville had punched the puck into the net. Brendan Shanahan scored a power play goal late for the Rangers to make it 4–2, but Drew Stafford hit the empty net to seal a 5–2 Sabre victory in Game 1.

The tide turned slightly for the Rangers in Game 2, but the result would not. The Rangers scored first this time around, on a Martin Straka power play goal midway through the first, but Brian Campbell and the Sabres responded with a goal on the man advantage 50 seconds later to even the game at one. Late in the second period, the Rangers scored again on the power play, this time with Paul Mara getting the tally, to take a 2–1 lead at second intermission. Things would unravel for the Rangers in the third as an errant Marek Malik pass was intercepted before exiting the defensive zone and Chris Drury converted the play into the equalizer goal 24 seconds into the period. Buffalo carried the momentum from there and Thomas Vanek netted the eventual game winner after a scramble in front at 10:11 of the third. The Sabres hung on to win 3–2 and take a 2–0 lead into the series.

The series shifted to New York City and Madison Square Garden for Game 3 with the Rangers in desperate need of a victory. For the second time in three games in the series, the game remained scoreless after one period of play; however, the Rangers struck early in the second, shortly after a power play opportunity had expired. Marek Malik kept the puck in at the blue line and Jaromir Jagr fired a shot that Ryan Miller stopped and thought he had covered. Unfortunately for the Sabres, the puck slipped behind him and Jagr followed up on the play by putting the loose puck in for his first goal of the series, giving the Rangers the 1–0 lead. A few minutes later, after driving hard to the net Karel Rachunek appeared to have given the Rangers a 2–0 lead when the puck deflected off his skate and past Miller into the open net. After a second controversial video review, the officials determined that Rachunek had kicked the puck into the net, negating the goal. Said Rangers coach Tom Renney after the game, "it has to be a distinct kicking motion. If that's distinct then we're all in trouble." In the third, Buffalo would even the score with a power play goal by co-captain Danny Briere with under eight minutes to play in regulation, forcing overtime. Buffalo nearly buried the game in the first overtime session nineteen minutes in while shorthanded, but Derek Roy's shot rang off the post behind Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist and out. In double overtime, it was Rozsival who would be the hero for New York, scoring on a drive from the point that deflected off the iron and in behind Ryan Miller, ending the game after 36:43 of extra time. The win came 36 years to the day that Pete Stemkowski scored a triple overtime winner at the Garden to beat the Chicago Blackhawks in 1971.

Two days later, the Rangers looked to even up the series on home ice, taking momentum from their double overtime Game 3 victory. Game 4 started similarly: after a scoreless first period, Jaromir Jagr scored a goal early in the first minute of the second period to give the Rangers a 1–0 lead. The Rangers would extend their lead to 2–0 midway through the third period, thanks to a power play goal from Brendan Shanahan. Buffalo would cut their deficit back to one goal just 33 seconds later on a goal by Ales Kotalik. Buffalo attacked hard for the game's final ten minutes but Lundqvist kept the Rangers up by a goal. The Sabres outshot the Rangers 11–4 in the game's final frame. With 20 seconds to play in regulation, Lundqvist was caught out of the net after misplaying the puck behind his own net as Buffalo charged for the equalizer. The puck came to Briere at the side of the net, but Lundqvist came across and made a right pad save at the goal line with 17 seconds to play. The play would go to another controversial video review and while many analysts believe that the puck logically would have crossed the goal line (resulting in a goal), there was no video angle available to conclusively prove that point. The ruling was no goal and the Rangers hung on for their second straight 2–1 victory to even the series 2–2 as it went back to Buffalo.

After an even first period in Game 5 resulted in no scoring, the momentum swung heavily in the Sabres' favor. Buffalo outshot New York 17–6 in the second period, but both goaltenders were a wall in net and the game remained scoreless through two. In the third, Buffalo had the advantage in shots once more (13–6), but it was New York that struck first, as Martin Straka scored to put the Rangers on top 1–0 with 3:19 to play in regulation. The Rangers looked like they were about to steal Game 5, but Chris Drury scored with 7.7 seconds remaining in the game to force overtime. Coincidentally, the Rangers had been burned for a game-tying goal with exactly 7.7 seconds on the clock in the past, specifically in Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals when Valeri Zelepukin beat Mike Richter to force overtime. While the Rangers had won that game in double overtime on a Stephane Matteau wrap-around, in this case, the Sabres would ride their momentum and win four minutes into overtime on a power play goal by Maxim Afinogenov who had been a healthy scratch the game before.

Down 3–2 in the series, the Rangers headed back to New York for Game 6, carrying a nine game winning streak at Madison Square Garden. For the fifth straight game in the series, the Rangers drew first blood, on a Michael Nylander backhand shot. With the score 1–0 Rangers in the second period, Buffalo started a heavy offensive onslaught. 1:29 into the second, Dmitri Kalinin scored on a shot that changed directions on Lundqvist after forward Nigel Dawes attempted to block the shot. Buffalo took the lead just over a minute later on a Jason Pominville goal. The Rangers would respond quickly, thanks to a power play goal by Paul Mara to tie the score at 2, but the Sabres were not done. Jochen Hecht and Chris Drury would add goals to give Buffalo a 4–2 lead after two periods. During the regular season and playoffs to that point, the Sabres had a 40–0 record when leading by two goals after two periods, but the Rangers would challenge that early. Jaromir Jagr scored on the power play five minutes into the third to cut the deficit to 4–3, but Hecht would net his second of the game ten minutes later on a tip-in in front to extend Buffalo's lead back to two goals. With 2:51 to play, Michael Nylander would score his second of the game on the power play to cut it to one goal again, but the Rangers could not tie the game late, and Buffalo held on for a 5–4 victory to eliminate the Rangers in six games.

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series	Recap
1	April 25	NY Rangers	2 – 5	Buffalo		Lundqvist	18,690	Sabres lead 1–0	[87]
2	April 27	NY Rangers	2 – 3	Buffalo		Lundqvist	18,690	Sabres lead 2–0	[88]
3	April 29	Buffalo	1 – 2	NY Rangers	2OT	Lundqvist	18,200	Sabres lead 2–1	[89]
4	May 1	Buffalo	1 – 2	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	Series tied 2–2	[90]
5	May 4	NY Rangers	1 – 2	Buffalo	OT	Lundqvist	18,690	Sabres lead 3–2	[91]
6	May 6	Buffalo	5 – 4	NY Rangers		Lundqvist	18,200	Sabres win 4–2	[92]

Player stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

		Regular season							Playoffs
Player		GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Jaromir Jagr		82	30	66	96	26	78		10	5	6	11	6	12
Michael Nylander		79	26	57	83	12	42		10	6	7	13	9	0
Martin Straka		77	29	41	70	16	24		10	2	8	10	E	2
Brendan Shanahan		67	29	33	62	2	47		10	5	2	7	-5	12
Matt Cullen		80	16	25	41	E	52		10	1	3	4	-2	6
Petr Prucha		79	22	18	40	10	30		10	0	1	1	E	4
Michal Rozsíval		80	10	30	40	-7	52		10	3	4	7	6	10
Karel Rachůnek		66	6	20	26	-9	38		6	0	4	4	-1	2
Marek Malík		69	2	19	21	32	70		10	1	3	4	6	10
Sean Avery		29	8	12	20	11	58		10	1	4	5	-3	27
Marcel Hossa		64	10	8	18	-4	26		10	2	2	4	5	4
Fedor Tyutin		66	2	12	14	-8	44		10	0	5	5	-3	8
Blair Betts		82	9	4	13	-4	24		10	0	0	0	-5	4
Aaron Ward		60	3	10	13	-3	57
Adam Hall		49	4	8	12	-13	18
Jed Ortmeyer		41	2	9	11	7	22		9	0	0	0	-1	2
Jason Ward		46	4	6	10	-3	26
Thomas Pöck		44	4	4	8	-4	16		4	0	3	3	E	4
Ryan Callahan		14	4	2	6	5	9		10	2	1	3	1	6
Jarkko Immonen		14	1	5	6	-2	4
Daniel Girardi		34	0	6	6	7	8		10	0	0	0	-4	4
Paul Mara		19	2	3	5	6	18		10	2	2	4	-4	18
Brad Isbister		19	1	4	5	5	14		4	0	0	0	-3	2
Darius Kasparaitis		24	2	2	4	-1	30
Colton Orr		53	2	1	3	-2	126		4	0	0	0	-1	12
Ryan Hollweg		78	1	2	3	-11	131		2	0	0	0	-1	2
Sandis Ozolinsh		21	0	3	3	-8	8
Jason Krog		9	2	0	2	2	4
Pascal Dupuis		6	1	0	1	-4	0
Nigel Dawes		8	1	0	1	-4	0		1	0	0	0	-2	0
Bryce Lampman		1	0	0	0	E	0
David Liffiton		2	0	0	0	1	7
Brandon Dubinsky		6	0	0	0	E	2
Jason Strudwick		8	0	0	0	E	2

*Stats reflect games played with New York only.

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

		Regular season										Playoffs
Player		GP	TOI	W	L	OTL	GA	SO	SV%	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Henrik Lundqvist		70	4108	37	22	8	160	5	.917	2.34		10	637	6	4	22	1	.924	2.07
Kevin Weekes		14	761	4	6	2	43	0	.879	3.39
Stephen Valiquette		3	114	1	2	0	6	0	.867	3.14

Awards and records

• Lester Patrick Trophy: Brian Leetch & John Halligan

Team specific awards

• Frank Boucher Trophy (to the "most popular player on and off the ice"): Henrik Lundqvist
• Rookie of the Year: Daniel Girardi
• Ceil Saidel Memorial Award ("for dedication to the organization on and off the ice"): Brendan Shanahan
• Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award ("for the player that goes above and beyond the call of duty"): Jed Ortmeyer
• Rangers Good Guy Award (for "cooperation with the media"): Brendan Shanahan
• Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award (to the best rookie of training camp): Nigel Dawes and Brandon Dubinsky
• Rangers Most Valuable Player: Henrik Lundqvist
• Players' Player Award: Brendan Shanahan

Milestones

Regular Season
Name	Milestone	Reached
Brendan Shanahan	600 Career Goals	October 5, 2006
Jaromir Jagr	600 Career Goals	November 19, 2006
Jaromir Jagr	602 Career Goals	November 21, 2006, passed Jari Kurri for most goals by a European born player
Jaromir Jagr	1,500 Career Points	February 10, 2007

Transactions

Trades

July 19, 2006	To New York Rangers Adam Hall	To Nashville Predators Dominic Moore
November 21, 2006	To New York Rangers Brad Isbister	To Carolina Hurricanes Jakub Petruzalek Conditional pick in 2008
February 5, 2007	To New York Rangers Sean Avery John Seymour	To Los Angeles Kings Jason Ward Marc-Andre Cliche Jan Marek
February 9, 2007	To New York Rangers Pascal Dupuis	To Minnesota Wild Adam Hall
February 27, 2007	To New York Rangers Alex Bourret	To Atlanta Thrashers Pascal Dupuis 3rd round pick in 2007

Free agents acquired

Player	Former Team
F Matt Cullen	Carolina Hurricanes
D Aaron Ward	Carolina Hurricanes
F Brendan Shanahan	Detroit Red Wings

Free agents lost

Player	New Team
F Steve Rucchin	Atlanta Thrashers
D Tom Poti	New York Islanders
D Martin Grenier	Philadelphia Flyers
F Martin Rucinsky	St. Louis Blues
F Petr Sykora	Edmonton Oilers

Received from waivers

Player	Former Team
F Jason Krog	Atlanta Thrashers

Waiver losses

Player	New Team
F Jason Krog	Atlanta Thrashers

Draft picks

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

Round	#	Player	Nationality	NHL Team	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	21	Bob Sanguinetti (D)	United States	New York Rangers	Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
2	54	Artem Anisimov (C)	Russia	New York Rangers	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Russian Superleague)
3	84	Ryan Hillier (LW)	Canada	New York Rangers	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
5	137	Tomas Zaborsky (W)	Slovakia	New York Rangers (from Vancouver)	HC Dukla Trenčín (Slovak Extraliga)
6	174	Eric Hunter (C)	Canada	New York Rangers	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
7	204	Lukas Zeliska (C)	Slovakia	New York Rangers	Trinec Jr.

Farm teams

Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)

Hartford finished with a regular season record of 47–29–3–1 for a total of 98 points in the standings. This snapped a three year streak in which the team had finished the regular season with at least 100 points, though it marked the fourth consecutive season in which the Wolf Pack won at least 40 games. Ryan Callahan led the team with 35 goals and 55 points on the season, earning him a spot on the AHL All-Rookie team for the season. By the time Callahan had won the honor, however, he was already seeing 3rd line playing time in the NHL for the Rangers. Goaltender Al Montoya finished fifth in the league in regular season goals against average at 2.30.

Regular season standings

Atlantic Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	PTS	GF	GA
Manchester Monarchs (LA)	80	51	21	7	1	110	242	182
Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR)	80	47	29	3	1	98	231	201
Providence Bruins (Bos)	80	44	30	2	4	94	251	218
Worcester Sharks (SJ)	80	41	28	3	8	93	247	244
Lowell Devils (NJ)	80	38	30	6	6	88	212	220
Portland Pirates (Ana)	80	37	31	3	9	86	225	232
Springfield Falcons (TB)	80	28	49	1	2	59	181	268

Playoffs

As the second seed in the Atlantic Division, the Wolf Pack opened up the playoffs against the third seeded Providence Bruins. With home ice advantage secured, Hartford won Game 1 5–1, but fell behind early in Game 2 and lost 4–2. With the series even and headed to Providence, the Wolf Pack reclaimed home ice advantage in the series thanks to a 5–2 victory in Game 3. Providence evened the series again in Game 4 with a big 5–1 victory, but the Wolf Pack used a 26–save Al Montoya shutout in Game 5 (a 1–0 victory) to take a 3–2 series lead back home to Hartford. Providence stayed alive in the series by winning Game 6 convincingly by a 5–2 score to force a seventh game. Tied 3–3 in the third, the Bruins scored two goals in a span of 58 seconds to take a 5–3 lead which Hartford could not come back from, falling 5–4 and losing the series 4 games to 3.

Charlotte Checkers (ECHL)

Charlotte finished the regular season 42–27–1–2 for 87 points, making 2006–07 the third best regular season finish in franchise history (behind 93 points in 2001–02 and 94 points in 1995–96). The Checkers also qualified for the playoffs for the third consecutive season. In each of the past two years, the Checkers were eliminated in the third round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Mark Lee led the team in scoring with 80 points, Bruce Graham led the team in goals with 33, and goaltender Chris Holt finished the season with a 24–18–0–2 record with a 3.15 goals against average.

Regular season standings

Southern Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA
Florida Everblades (Car/Fla)	72	44	22	4	2	94	272	212
Texas Wildcatters (Independent)	72	41	22	5	4	91	265	222
Gwinnett Gladiators (Atl)	72	41	24	5	2	89	289	256
Charlotte Checkers (NYR)	72	42	27	1	2	87	252	220
Augusta Lynx (Ana)	72	39	29	1	3	82	258	265
South Carolina Stingrays (Was)	72	36	27	4	5	81	250	251
Columbia Inferno (Tor)	72	29	34	4	5	67	217	256
Pensacola Ice Pilots (NYI)	72	20	46	2	4	46	233	318

Playoffs

The fourth seeded Checkers played the fifth seeded Augusta Lynx in the American Conference's Southern Divisional Quarter-finals, a best-of-three series, sweeping it 2 games to 0. Charlotte won both games in overtime, 2–1 in Game 1 and 3–2 on the road in Game 2. Daymen Rycroft scored the game winning goal on both occasions.

The Checkers would then play the top seeded Florida Everblades in the Divisional Semi-finals, a best-of-five series. Florida took Game 1 by the score of 3–2, then pounded the Checkers in Game 2 by scoring early and often, en route to a 7–2 win. Back home for Game 3, the Checkers could not stave off the sweep, falling 4–0 in their final game.

See also

• 2006–07 NHL season

References

• Game log: New York Rangers game log on espn.com
• Team standings: NHL standings on espn.com
• Player Stats: New York Rangers 2006–07 Reg. Season Stats on espn.com
• Draft picks: 2006 NHL Entry Draft
• Official site of the New York Rangers