2006–07 New York Islanders season

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)
Penalties in minutes	Brendan Witt (131)
Plus/minus	Radek Martinek (+19)
Wins	Rick DiPietro (32)
Goals against average	Wade Dubielewicz (2.06)
<2005–06	2007–08>

The New York Islanders finished the 2006–07 season with a record of 40–30–12. They qualified for the playoffs in the last game of the regular season. They lost to the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, four games to one.

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 wasn't right after Wang ignored his advice to wait a few days before making a final decision about Smith.^[1]

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 dollar contract, among the longest in professional sports history.^[2]

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.^[3] On December 20, they traded forward Mike York to the Flyers for forward Randy Robitaille and a fifth round pick in 2008.^[4]

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 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 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 all-star Ryan Smyth and picked up Richard Zednik for a second rounder.^[5] 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 missing several games with multiple concussions. Backup 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.^[6] 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, 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

^[7]

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
1	October 5	NY Islanders	3 – 6	Phoenix		DiPietro	15,301	0–1–0	0
2	October 7	NY Islanders	0 – 2	San Jose		DiPietro	17,496	0–2–0	0
3	October 10	NY Islanders	2 – 4	Los Angeles		DiPietro	14,394	0–3–0	0
4	October 11	NY Islanders	5 – 4	Anaheim	SO	Dunham	12,394	1–3–0	2
5	October 14	Boston	1 – 4	NY Islanders		Dunham	14,732	2–3–0	4
6	October 16	Nashville	2 – 1	NY Islanders	SO	Dunham	9,431	2–3–1	5
7	October 19	Pittsburgh	4 – 3	NY Islanders	OT	Dunham	10,258	2–3–2	6
8	October 21	Carolina	3 – 4	NY Islanders	OT	DiPietro	12,349	3–3–2	8
9	October 26	Buffalo	3 – 0	NY Islanders		DiPietro	8,861	3–4–2	8
10	October 28	Florida	3 – 4	NY Islanders	SO	DiPietro	10,455	4–4–2	10
11	October 31	Chicago	2 – 5	NY Islanders		DiPietro	8,739	5–4–2	12

November

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
12	November 2	NY Islanders	5 – 2	New Jersey		DiPietro	8,269	6–4–2	14
13	November 4	Atlanta	4 – 1	NY Islanders		DiPietro	12,394	6–5–2	14
14	November 6	Tampa Bay	5 – 1	NY Islanders		Dunham	9,693	6–6–2	14
15	November 9	NY Islanders	3 – 1	Philadelphia		DiPietro	18,656	7–6–2	16
16	November 15	NY Islanders	3 – 0	Dallas		DiPietro	17,643	7–7–2	16
17	November 17	NY Islanders	2 – 3	Tampa Bay	SO	DiPietro	19,919	7–7–3	17
18	November 18	NY Islanders	4 – 1	Florida		Dunham	16,833	8–7–3	19
19	November 20	NY Islanders	2 – 4	Toronto		DiPietro	19,392	8–8–3	19
20	November 22	Carolina	2 – 4	NY Islanders		DiPietro	12,419	9–8–3	21
21	November 24	Pittsburgh	1 – 3	NY Islanders		DiPietro	15,625	10–8–3	23
22	November 25	Washington	1 – 4	NY Islanders		DiPietro	13,214	11–8–3	25
23	November 28	NY Islanders	2 – 3	Pittsburgh		DiPietro	17,082	12–8–3	27
24	November 30	Philadelphia	3 – 2	NY Islanders		Dunham	10,280	12–9–3	27

December

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
25	December 2	NY Islanders	5 – 3	Pittsburgh		DiPietro	17,025	13–9–3	29
26	December 3	NY Islanders	7 – 4	NY Rangers		DiPietro	18,200	14–9–3	31
27	December 5	Ottawa	4 – 2	NY Islanders		Dunham	8,741	14–10–3	31
28	December 7	Montreal	4 – 2	NY Islanders		DiPietro	9,551	14–11–3	31
29	December 9	Florida	4 – 5	NY Islanders	SO	DiPietro	12,825	15–11–3	33
30	December 15	NY Islanders	4 – 7	Pittsburgh		DiPietro	17,028	15–12–3	33
31	December 16	Atlanta	0 – 6	NY Islanders		DiPietro	10,452	16–12–3	35
32	December 19	NY Islanders	4 – 3	NY Rangers		DiPietro	18,200	17–12–3	37
33	December 22	NY Islanders	1 – 5	Carolina		DiPietro	18,252	17–13–3	37
34	December 23	Columbus	0 – 4	NY Islanders		DiPietro	11,797	18–13–3	39
35	December 26	NY Rangers	0 – 2	NY Islanders		DiPietro	16,234	19–13–3	41
36	December 27	NY Islanders	0 – 2	Ottawa		DiPietro	20,192	19–14–3	41
37	December 30	New Jersey	2 – 0	NY Islanders		DiPietro	16,234	19–15–3	41

January

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
38	January 1	NY Islanders	1 – 3	Buffalo		DiPietro	18,690	19–16–3	41
39	January 2	Philadelphia	3 – 2	NY Islanders		Dunham	10,461	19–17–3	41
40	January 4	NY Islanders	3 – 4	New Jersey		DiPietro	12,529	19–18–3	41
41	January 6	NY Islanders	2 – 4	Carolina		DiPietro	18,639	19–19–3	41
42	January 9	NY Islanders	5 – 3	NY Rangers		DiPietro	18,200	20–19–3	43
43	January 11	NY Islanders	5 – 4	Boston	SO	DiPietro	13,529	21–19–3	45
44	January 13	New Jersey	2 – 1	NY Islanders	OT	DiPietro	16,234	21–19–4	46
45	January 15	Tampa Bay	4 – 3	NY Islanders		DiPietro	15,426	21–20–4	46
46	January 16	NY Islanders	2 – 5	Pittsburgh		Dunham	16,958	21–21–4	46
47	January 18	NY Islanders	4 – 2	Philadelphia		DiPietro	19,118	22–21–4	48
48	January 26	NY Islanders	4 – 5	Atlanta	OT	Dunham	18,089	22–21–5	49
49	January 27	Buffalo	3 – 5	NY Islanders		DiPietro	15,218	23–21–5	51
50	January 30	Detroit	3 – 4	NY Islanders	OT	DiPietro	12,322	23–21–6	52

February

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
51	February 1	NY Islanders	5 – 2	Atlanta		Dunham	13,543	24–21–6	54
52	February 3	NY Islanders	4 – 2	Montreal		DiPietro	21,273	25–21–6	56
53	February 4	NY Islanders	1 – 2	Washington	SO	DiPietro	12,508	25–21–7	57
54	February 7	Philadelphia	0 – 2	NY Islanders		DiPietro	10,229	26–21–7	59
55	February 8	NY Islanders	0 – 2	New Jersey		DiPietro	10,110	26–22–7	59
56	February 10	NY Islanders	3 – 4	Boston	SO	DiPietro	16,854	26–21–8	60
57	February 13	NY Islanders	3 – 2	Toronto	SO	DiPietro	19,600	27–21–8	62
58	February 15	Boston	1 – 4	NY Islanders		DiPietro	10,079	28–22–8	64
59	February 17	New Jersey	2 – 0	NY Islanders		DiPietro	15,223	28–23–8	64
60	February 19	Pittsburgh	5 – 6	NY Islanders		DiPietro	15,472	29–23–8	66
61	February 22	Toronto	2 – 3	NY Islanders	SO	DiPietro	11,759	30–23–8	68
62	February 24	Montreal	2 – 3	NY Islanders		DiPietro	16,234	31–23–8	70
63	February 27	Philadelphia	5 – 6	NY Islanders		DiPietro	11,443	32–23–8	72

March

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
64	March 1	St. Louis	3 – 2	NY Islanders	OT	DiPietro	12,263	32–23–9	73
65	March 3	NY Islanders	6 – 2	Washington		DiPietro	16,453	33–23–9	75
66	March 5	NY Islanders	1 – 2	NY Rangers	SO	DiPietro	18,200	33–23–10	76
67	March 8	NY Rangers	2 – 1	NY Islanders		DiPietro	16,234	33–24–10	76
68	March 10	Washington	2 – 5	NY Islanders		DiPietro	15,764	34–24–10	78
69	March 13	NY Islanders	3 – 5	Montreal		Dunham	21,273	34–25–10	78
70	March 15	NY Islanders	1 – 5	Ottawa		Dunham	19,989	34–26–10	78
71	March 17	NY Islanders	5 – 8	Florida		Dunham	17,078	34–27–10	78
72	March 20	NY Islanders	3 – 4	Tampa Bay	OT	DiPietro	19,916	34–27–11	79
73	March 22	Pittsburgh	1 – 3	NY Islanders		DiPietro	14,574	35–27–11	81
74	March 24	NY Islanders	4 – 3	Philadelphia		DiPietro	19,422	36–27–11	83
75	March 25	NY Islanders	1 – 2	NY Rangers	OT	DiPietro	16,234	36–27–12	84
76	March 27	New Jersey	2 – 3	NY Islanders		Dunham	13,337	36–28–12	84
77	March 30	NY Islanders	4 – 6	Buffalo		Dunham	18,690	36–29–12	84
78	March 31	Ottawa	5 – 2	NY Islanders		Dubielewicz	15,598	36–30–12	84

April

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
79	April 3	NY Rangers	2 – 3	NY Islanders	SO	Dubielewicz	15,591	37–30–12	86
80	April 5	Toronto	2 – 5	NY Islanders		Dubielewicz	14,352	38–30–12	88
81	April 7	NY Islanders	4 – 2	Philadelphia		Dubielewicz	19,412	39–30–12	90
82	April 8	NY Islanders	3 – 2	New Jersey	SO	Dubielewicz	18,111	40–30–12	92

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

Playoffs

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

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series
1	April 12	NY Islanders	1 – 4	Buffalo		Dubielewicz	18,690	0 – 1
2	April 14	NY Islanders	3 – 2	Buffalo		DiPietro	18,690	1 – 1
3	April 16	Buffalo	3 – 2	NY Islanders		DiPietro	16,234	1 – 2
4	April 18	Buffalo	4 – 2	NY Islanders		DiPietro	16,234	1 – 3
5	April 20	NY Islanders	3 – 4	Buffalo		DiPietro	18,690	1 – 4

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Blake, JasonJason Blake	C	82	40	29	69	34	1	14	0	7
Satan, MiroslavMiroslav Satan	LW	81	27	32	59	46	-12	7	1	2
Sillinger, MikeMike Sillinger	C	82	26	33	59	46	5	11	2	3
Kozlov, ViktorViktor Kozlov	C	81	25	26	51	28	12	5	0	4
Yashin, AlexeiAlexei Yashin	C	58	18	32	50	44	6	5	0	3
Poti, TomTom Poti	D	78	6	38	44	74	-1	6	0	1
Hunter, TrentTrent Hunter	RW	77	20	15	35	22	5	5	1	2
Hilbert, AndyAndy Hilbert	C/LW	81	8	20	28	34	10	0	0	1
Simon, ChrisChris Simon	LW	67	10	17	27	75	17	2	0	0
Park, RichardRichard Park	RW	82	10	16	26	33	4	0	2	2
Hill, SeanSean Hill	D	81	1	24	25	110	6	0	0	0
Asham, ArronArron Asham	RW	80	11	12	23	63	3	0	0	2
Robitaille, RandyRandy Robitaille	C	50	6	17	23	22	-2	1	0	1
Bergeron, Marc-AndreMarc-Andre Bergeron	D	23	6	15	21	10	5	4	0	1
Martinek, RadekRadek Martinek	D	43	2	15	17	40	19	0	0	0
Smyth, RyanRyan Smyth	LW	18	5	10	15	14	0	1	0	0
Campoli, ChrisChris Campoli	D	51	1	13	14	23	-3	0	0	0
Witt, BrendanBrendan Witt	D	81	1	13	14	131	14	0	0	0
York, MikeMike York	LW	32	6	7	13	14	-9	2	0	1
Zhitnik, AlexeiAlexei Zhitnik	D	30	2	9	11	40	13	0	0	1
Bates, ShawnShawn Bates	C	48	4	6	10	34	13	0	1	0
Tambellini, JeffJeff Tambellini	LW	23	2	7	9	6	6	0	0	0
Gervais, BrunoBruno Gervais	D	51	0	6	6	28	-10	0	0	0
Zednik, RichardRichard Zednik	RW	10	1	2	3	2	-2	0	0	0
Meyer, FreddyFreddy Meyer	D	35	0	3	3	24	0	0	0	0
Nielsen, FransFrans Nielsen	C	15	1	1	2	0	-2	0	0	1
DiPietro, RickRick DiPietro	G	62	0	2	2	24	0	0	0	0
Fata, DrewDrew Fata	D	3	1	0	1	5	-2	0	0	0
Dunham, MikeMike Dunham	G	19	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Rourke, AllanAllan Rourke	D	11	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	0
Boguniecki, EricEric Boguniecki	C	11	0	0	0	8	0	0	0	0
Colliton, JeremyJeremy Colliton	C	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Comeau, BlakeBlake Comeau	RW	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dubielewicz, WadeWade Dubielewicz	G	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Quint, DeronDeron Quint	D	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Regier, SteveSteve Regier	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T/OT	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
DiPietro, RickRick DiPietro	3627	62	32	19	9	156	2.58	5	1917	1761	.919
Dubielewicz, WadeWade Dubielewicz	379	8	4	1	0	13	2.06	0	198	185	.934
Dunham, MikeMike Dunham	979	19	4	10	3	61	3.74	0	552	491	.889
Team:	4985	82	40	30	12	230	2.77	5	2667	2437	.914

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Smyth, RyanRyan Smyth	LW	5	1	3	4	4	1	0	0	0
Hunter, TrentTrent Hunter	RW	5	3	0	3	0	1	0	0	0
Blake, JasonJason Blake	C	5	1	2	3	2	-2	0	0	0
Satan, MiroslavMiroslav Satan	LW	5	1	2	3	0	0	0	0	0
Poti, TomTom Poti	D	5	0	3	3	6	0	0	0	0
Bergeron, Marc-AndreMarc-Andre Bergeron	D	5	1	1	2	6	1	1	0	1
Campoli, ChrisChris Campoli	D	5	1	1	2	2	-1	0	0	0
Gervais, BrunoBruno Gervais	D	5	1	1	2	2	-2	0	0	0
Sillinger, MikeMike Sillinger	C	5	1	1	2	2	-1	1	0	0
Kozlov, ViktorViktor Kozlov	C	5	0	2	2	2	-2	0	0	0
Robitaille, RandyRandy Robitaille	C	5	0	2	2	8	-5	0	0	0
Asham, ArronArron Asham	RW	5	1	0	1	0	-3	0	0	0
Park, RichardRichard Park	RW	5	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
Witt, BrendanBrendan Witt	D	5	0	1	1	6	-3	0	0	0
DiPietro, RickRick DiPietro	G	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dubielewicz, WadeWade Dubielewicz	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fata, DrewDrew Fata	D	1	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0
Hilbert, AndyAndy Hilbert	C/LW	5	0	0	0	2	-1	0	0	0
Hill, SeanSean Hill	D	4	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Yashin, AlexeiAlexei Yashin	C	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Zednik, RichardRichard Zednik	RW	5	0	0	0	8	-1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
DiPietro, RickRick DiPietro	236	4	1	3	13	3.31	0	127	114	.898
Dubielewicz, WadeWade Dubielewicz	59	1	0	1	4	4.07	0	35	31	.886
Team:	295	5	1	4	17	3.46	0	162	145	.895

^[8]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

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 Zednik	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.^[9]

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	Ässät (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 (USHL)
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 Jr.
6	160	Andrew MacDonald	Defenceman	Canada	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
6	171	Brian Day	Right Wing	United States	Governor Dummer (Independent School League)
6	173	Stefan Ridderwall	Goalie	Sweden	Djurgården Jr. (J20)
7	190	Troy Mattila	Left Wing	United States	Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)

External links

• Official website of the New York Islanders

See also

• 2006–07 NHL season

References