2006–07 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 4, 2006–June 6, 2007
Regular season
Season MVP	Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh)
Top scorer	Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Ottawa Senators
Eastern runners-up	Buffalo Sabres
Western champions	Anaheim Ducks
Western runners-up	Detroit Red Wings
Playoffs MVP	Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim)
Finals
Finals champions	Anaheim Ducks
Runners-up	Ottawa Senators

The 2006–07 NHL season was the 89th regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally, the NHL would have celebrated its 90th anniversary this season; however, the cancellation of the 2004-05 NHL season pushed the 90th season back until the 2007–08 NHL season. The 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs began on April 11, 2007 and concluded on June 6, with the Anaheim Ducks defeating the Ottawa Senators to win their first Stanley Cup.

[edit] Events

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim officially shortened their name to the Anaheim Ducks prior to the season, introducing a new logo and color scheme. This reflected a clean break from their original owners, The Walt Disney Company, who originally named the team after the movie, The Mighty Ducks.^[1]

The NHL All-Star Game returned after a two-year absence when the Dallas Stars hosted the 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game at the American Airlines Center on January 24, 2007. Dallas hosted the All-Star Game for the first time, and it was the first time the Stars franchise had had hosted the game since 1972, when it was hosted by the-then Minnesota North Stars. The West defeated the East by a score of 12–9, with Daniel Briere of the Buffalo Sabres being named MVP of the game.

Several former players had their jersey numbers retired during this season:^[2]

• Pittsburgh Penguins retired Mario Lemieux's #66 for the second time on October 5.^[3]
• St. Louis Blues retired Brett Hull's #16 on December 5.
• Detroit Red Wings retired Steve Yzerman's #19 on January 2.
• Los Angeles Kings retired Luc Robitaille's #20 on January 20.
• Montreal Canadiens retired Serge Savard's #18 on November 18 and Ken Dryden's #29 on January 29.
• Calgary Flames retired Mike Vernon's #30 on February 6.
• Edmonton Oilers retired Mark Messier's #11 on February 27.

Numerous players reached major milestones during the season:

• Brendan Shanahan became the 15th player with 600 regular season NHL goals when he scored twice in his debut with the New York Rangers on October 5.^[4]
• Jaromir Jagr joined Shanahan in the 600 goal club on November 19, making Jagr and Shanahan the first teammates to reach 600 goals in the same season.^[5] Jagr also passed Jari Kurri's record for points by a European-born player and later became the 12th player to score 1,500 career points.^[6][7] Jagr scored his 30th goal of the season against the Montreal Canadiens on April 5, tying Mike Gartner's record for most consecutive 30-goal seasons at 15.
• Joe Sakic became the third player to score 600 career goals this season on February 15.^[8] Sakic also became the 11th player to record 1,500 points.^[9]
• Teppo Numminen played in his 1,252nd regular season game on November 13, passing Jari Kurri's record for most games played by a European-trained player.^[10]
• Mats Sundin became the first Swedish player to score 500 career goals on October 14.
• Teemu Selanne scored his 500th goal on November 23, becoming only the second Finnish player to reach the mark.^[11]
• Peter Bondra became the 37th player to achieve 500 goals on December 22,^[12] followed shortly thereafter by Mark Recchi as number 38 on January 26.^[13]
• On March 13, Mike Modano became the 39th player to score 500 goals.^[14] Four nights later, he passed Joe Mullen for most goals by an American-born player by scoring his 503rd goal.^[15]

The NHL's youth movement continued:

• Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins became first player in 89 years to score a goal in each of his first six games in the NHL.^[16]
• Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jordan Staal became the youngest player (18 years, 153 days) in NHL history to record a hat trick on February 10.^[17]
• Colorado Avalanche forward Paul Stastny set an NHL rookie record by scoring at least one point in 20 consecutive games, breaking Teemu Selanne's record of 17.^[18][19]
• 19-year old phenom Sidney Crosby claimed the scoring title with 120 points, becoming the youngest player in NHL history to achieve the feat.^[20]
• Crosby scored a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes to pass Wayne Gretzky as the youngest player (19 years, 207 days) in NHL history to reach 200 career points.^[21]

Numerous other milestones, events, and happenings occurred as well:

• The New York Rangers and Florida Panthers played an historic preseason game on September 23, 2006, when the Rangers defeated the Panthers 3-2 in the NHL's first game in Puerto Rico.^[22]

• On November 9, 2006, the Anaheim Ducks set an NHL open era record by remaining undefeated in regulation for the first 16 games of the season, with 12 wins and four overtime losses. The previous mark was set by the 1984–85 Edmonton Oilers, who had 12 wins and three ties.^[23]

• On January 2, 2007, the Edmonton Oilers recorded their 1,000th regular season win in franchise history by defeating the Florida Panthers 4–1 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta.^[24]

• On February 1, 2007, Martin Brodeur passed Patrick Roy for first place on the all-time overtime wins list, with 45 career overtime wins.^{[citation needed]}

• On February 22, 2007, eight games went to overtime, setting a record for most on one day.^[25] Four of these games went to a shootout. One of the shootouts, between the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres, was the culmination of a game that saw a huge fight, the result of a late hit on Sabres co-captain Chris Drury, that resulted in 100 penalty minutes and three game misconduct ejections.^[26]

• On March 11, 2007, Chris Simon of the New York Islanders was suspended an NHL-record 25 games (minimum) for striking New York Rangers center Ryan Hollweg in the face with his stick during a March 8 game between the two teams.^[27] Simon missed the Islanders' final 15 regular-season contests, their five post-season games, and the first five games of the 2007–08 season.^[28]

• On March 31, 2007, Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning scored his 51st goal of the season against the Washington Capitals, which would be enough to ensure that he became the first Lightning player to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (most goals scored). ^[29] Lecavalier finished the season with 52 goals.^[30] On the same night, Martin St. Louis crossed the 100-point mark for the season, making him and Lecavalier the only teammates in the 2006-07 season to reach 100 points.^[31][32]

• On April 3, 2007, Dominik Hasek of the Detroit Red Wings made 35 saves and moved into a tie for eighth place with Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito on the career shutouts list with 76, in a 3–0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.^[33] The shutout was Columbus' 16th of the season, setting a modern-day NHL record for shutouts against.^[34]

• On April 5, 2007, goalie Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils recorded his 48th win of the season, setting a new record for most wins in a single season by a goaltender. The previous record of 47 wins was set during the 1973-74 NHL season by Bernie Parent of the Philadelphia Flyers.^[35]

• For the first time in NHL history, neither of the previous season's Stanley Cup finalists qualified for the playoffs, as both the Edmonton Oilers and defending champion Carolina Hurricanes failed to qualify.^[36] The Hurricanes are also the first Stanley Cup Champion since the 1995-96 New Jersey Devils to miss the playoffs the season after their victory.^[37]

• The Colorado Avalanche, with 95 points, broke the record set by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1969-70 season who had 92 points,^{[citation needed]} for having the most points of any team missing the playoffs.^[38]

• The Vancouver Canucks broke their franchise record of the longest playoff game on April 11, 2007 winning near the end of the fourth overtime, against the Dallas Stars and marking the sixth-longest game in NHL history.^[39]

• On June 2, 2007, the Stanley Cup Finals returned to Ottawa for the first time in over 80 years, since the final match between the original Ottawa Senators and the Boston Bruins on April 13, 1927 was played. As reported by The Canadian Press, 99 year-old Russell Williams is in attendance, who attended the previous Finals game. The Senators won the game, 5–3.^[40]

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Final standings

Red-shaded team won the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

Orange-shaded team clinched the other conference.

Yellow-shaded teams clinched the other four divisions.

Green-shaded teams clinched the remaining ten playoff berths.

Numbers in parentheses indicate ranking in conference. Division leaders are automatically ranked 1–3. These three, plus the next five teams in the conference standings, earn playoff berths at the end of the season.

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points^[41]

[edit] Eastern Conference

[edit] Western Conference

[edit] Tiebreaking procedures

If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the standing of the clubs is determined in the following order:^[42]

1. The fewer number of games played (i.e., superior points percentage).
2. The greater number of games won.
3. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs.
4. The greater differential between goals for and against.

[edit] Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes^[43]

[edit] Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average^[44]

[edit] Playoffs

Main article: 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Stanley Cup

[edit] Playoff bracket

In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage, which gives them a maximum possible four games on their home ice, with the other team getting a maximum possible three. In the Stanley Cup Final, home ice is determined based on regular season points, giving the Anaheim Ducks home ice for this year's series. Each best-of-seven series follows a 2–2–1–1–1 format. This means that the higher-seeded team will have Games 1 and 2, plus 5 and 7 if necessary, played on their home ice, while the lower-seeded team will be at home for the other games. The format ensures that the team with home ice advantage will always have home ice for the "extra" game if there are an odd number of games in a series.

[edit] Finals

Main article: 2007 Stanley Cup Finals

Anaheim Ducks vs. Ottawa Senators

[edit] NHL awards

[edit] All-Star teams

[edit] Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2006–07:

• Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild^[50]
• Brandon Dubinsky, New York Rangers
• Yutaka Fukufuji, Los Angeles Kings (first Japanese NHL player)^[51]
• Phil Kessel, Boston Bruins^[52]
• Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings^[53]
• Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins^[54]
• Alexander Radulov, Nashville Predators^[55]
• Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh Penguins^[56]
• Paul Stastny, Colorado Avalanche^[18]

[edit] Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 2006–07 (listed with their last team):

• Matthew Barnaby, Dallas Stars^[57]
• Peter Bondra, Chicago Blackhawks^[58]
• Sean Burke, Los Angeles Kings^[59]
• Eric Lindros, Dallas Stars^[60]
• Scott Mellanby, Atlanta Thrashers^[61]
• Joe Nieuwendyk, Florida Panthers^[62]
• Mike Ricci, Phoenix Coyotes^[63]
• Patrik Stefan, Dallas Stars^[64]
• Pierre Turgeon, Colorado Avalanche^[65]

[edit] See also

• 2006 NHL Entry Draft
• 2006-07 NHL transactions
• 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs
• 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• 2006 in ice hockey
• 2007 in ice hockey

[edit] References