2006–07 New York Islanders season

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."Lafontaine leaves post as senior advisor" Mark Hermann, Newsday, July 19, 2006
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.
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.http://www.newyorkislanders.com/pressbox/archive.asp?id=1247 On December 20, they traded forward Mike York to the Flyers for forward Randy Robitaille and a fifth round pick in 2008.TSN : NHL - Canada's Sports Leader 
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. 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.New York Islanders - News: ISLANDERS 3, NEW JERSEY 2, SO - 04/08/2007 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===
===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
 	C 	82	40	29	69 	34 	1 	14 	0 	7
 	LW 	81	27	32	59 	46 	-12	7 	1 	2
 	C 	82	26	33	59 	46 	5 	11 	2 	3
 	C 	81	25	26	51 	28 	12 	5 	0 	4
 	C 	58	18	32	50 	44 	6 	5 	0 	3
 	D 	78	6 	38	44 	74 	-1 	6 	0 	1
 	RW 	77	20	15	35 	22 	5 	5 	1 	2
 	C/LW	81	8 	20	28 	34 	10 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	67	10	17	27 	75 	17 	2 	0 	0
 	RW 	82	10	16	26 	33 	4 	0 	2 	2
 	D 	81	1 	24	25 	110	6 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	80	11	12	23 	63 	3 	0 	0 	2
 	C 	50	6 	17	23 	22 	-2 	1 	0 	1
 	D 	23	6 	15	21 	10 	5 	4 	0 	1
 	D 	43	2 	15	17 	40 	19 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	18	5 	10	15 	14 	0 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	51	1 	13	14 	23 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	81	1 	13	14 	131	14 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	32	6 	7 	13 	14 	-9 	2 	0 	1
 	D 	30	2 	9 	11 	40 	13 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	48	4 	6 	10 	34 	13 	0 	1 	0
 	LW 	23	2 	7 	9 	6 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	51	0 	6 	6 	28 	-10	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	10	1 	2 	3 	2 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	35	0 	3 	3 	24 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	15	1 	1 	2 	0 	-2 	0 	0 	1
 	G 	62	0 	2 	2 	24 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	1 	0 	1 	5 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	19	0 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	11	0 	1 	1 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	11	0 	0 	0 	8 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	8 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T/OT	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	3627	62	32	19	9 	156	2.58	5 	1917	1761	.919
 	379 	8 	4 	1 	0 	13 	2.06	0 	198 	185 	.934
 	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
 	LW 	5 	1	3	4 	4 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	3	0	3 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	1	2	3 	2 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	1	2	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	3	3 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	1	1	2 	6 	1 	1 	0 	1
 	D 	5 	1	1	2 	2 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	1	1	2 	2 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	1	1	2 	2 	-1 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	0	2	2 	2 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	0	2	2 	8 	-5 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	1	0	1 	0 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0	1	1 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	1	1 	6 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	4 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	C/LW	5 	0	0	0 	2 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	0	0	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0	0	0 	8 	-1 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	236	4 	1	3	13	3.31	0 	127	114	.898
 	59 	1 	0	1	4 	4.07	0 	35 	31 	.886
Team: 	295	5 	1	4	17	3.46	0 	162	145	.895
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/OT = Ties/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 IslandersMarc-Andre Bergeron3rd round pick in 2008 	To Edmonton OilersDenis Grebeshkov
February 26, 2007	To New York IslandersRichard Zednik 	To Washington Capitals2nd round pick in 2007
February 27, 2007	To New York IslandersRyan Smyth 	To Edmonton OilersRyan O'MarraRobert Nilsson1st 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.2006 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com - accessed December 9, 2006
Round	# 	Player 	Position 	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 	7 	Kyle Okposo 	Right Wing	 	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
2 	60 	Jesse Joensuu 	Wing 	 	Ässät (SM-Liiga)
3 	70 	Robin Figren 	Wing 	 	Frölunda HC (Elitserien)
4 	100	Rhett Rakhshani 	Right Wing	 	University of Denver(NCAA) /US National Team Development Program (USHL)
4 	108	Jase Weslosky 	Goalie 	 	Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)
4 	115	Tomas Marcinko 	Center 	 	HC Košice (Slovak Extraliga)
4 	119	Doug Rogers 	Center 	 	Saint Sebastian's School (Independent School League)
5 	141	Kim Johansson 	Wing 	 	Malmö Jr.
6 	160	Andrew MacDonald 	Defenceman	 	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
6 	171	Brian Day 	Right Wing	 	Governor Dummer (Independent School League)
6 	173	Stefan Ridderwall	Goalie 	 	Djurgården Jr. (J20)
7 	190	Troy Mattila 	Left Wing 	 	Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)
==External links==
*Official website of the New York Islanders
==See also==
*2006–07 NHL season
==References==
*Game log: New York Islanders game log on espn.com
*Team standings: NHL standings on espn.com
Goaltenders:
•
•
Defensemen
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Forwards
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Category:New York Islanders seasons
Category:2006 in hockey
Category:2007 in hockey