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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[1] and defenseman Aaron Ward[2] from the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in addition to three-time champion Brendan Shanahan[3] from the Detroit Red Wings. However, the Rangers lost a few big names from their strong regular season run, including assistant captain Steve Rucchin[4], Martin Rucinsky[5], Tom Poti[6] and Petr Sykora.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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[11], Marcel Hossa[12] and Karel Rachunek[13] 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

[14]

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[]

Team specific awards[]

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[9] 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[1] Carolina Hurricanes
D Aaron Ward[2] Carolina Hurricanes
F Brendan Shanahan[3] Detroit Red Wings

Free agents lost[]

Player New Team
F Steve Rucchin[4] Atlanta Thrashers
D Tom Poti[6] New York Islanders
D Martin Grenier Philadelphia Flyers
F Martin Rucinsky[5] St. Louis Blues
F Petr Sykora[7] 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.[23]

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

Roster[]

2006–07 New York Rangers Roster

Goaltenders:

30 Lundqvist • 40 Valiquette • 80 Weekes 

Defensemen

3 Rozsíval • 8 Malik • 22 Pock • 23 Rachunek • 24 Ozolinsh • 27 Mara • 34 Strudwick • 46 Girardi • 51 Tyutin • 55 Liffiton 

Forwards

5 Cullen • 10 Dawes • 14 Shanahan • 15 Isbister • 16 Avery • 19 Betts • 25 Prucha • 28 Orr • 38 Immonen • 41 Ortmeyer • 43 Callahan • 44 Hollweg • 54 Dubinsky • 68 Jagr • 81 Hossa • 82 Straka • 92 Nylander 

General ManagerGlen Sather •  CoachTom Renney

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[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 New York Rangers add former Carolina Hurricanes forward Cullen - accessed May 7, 2007
  2. 2.0 2.1 Rangers sign defenceman Aaron Ward away from champion Hurricanes - accessed May 7, 2007
  3. 3.0 3.1 Free agent winger Brendan Shanahan signs with New York Rangers - accessed May 7, 2007
  4. 4.0 4.1 Thrashers sign unrestricted free agents Steve Rucchin, Glen Metropolit - accessed May 7, 2007
  5. 5.0 5.1 St. Louis Blues sign free-agent forward Martin Rucinsky - accessed May 7, 2007
  6. 6.0 6.1 Poti leaves Rangers, signs one-year deal with rival Islanders - accessed May 7, 2007
  7. 7.0 7.1 Free-agent forward Petr Sykora signs one-year deal with Oilers - accessed May 7, 2007
  8. Rangers forward Brendan Shanahan scores twice to reach 600 NHL goals - accessed May 7, 2007
  9. 9.0 9.1 Rangers acquire forward Sean Avery in five-player swap with Kings - accessed May 7, 2007
  10. Rangers forward Shanahan hospitalized following collision with Philadelphia's Knuble - accessed May 7, 2007
  11. Tyutin out 3 to 4 weeks due to sprained knee ligament - accessed May 7, 2007
  12. Rangers' Hossa out 3–to-4 weeks with knee injury - accessed May 7, 2007
  13. Rangers D Rachunek joins growing list of injuries - accessed May 7, 2007
  14. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). in Dave McCarthy et al: THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League, 157. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0. 
  15. Frank Boucher Trophy - accessed May 7, 2007
  16. Rangers Rookie of the Year - accessed May 7, 2007
  17. Ceil Saidel Memorial Award - accessed May 7, 2007
  18. Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award - accessed May 7, 2007
  19. Rangers Good Guy Award - accessed May 7, 2007
  20. Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award - accessed May 7, 2007
  21. Rangers MVP Award - accessed May 7, 2007
  22. Players' Player Award - accessed May 7, 2007
  23. 2006 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com - accessed December 9, 2006



This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 2006–07 New York Rangers season. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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