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The 2006–07 New York Rangers season was the National Hockey League franchise's 80th season of play and their 81st season overall. It saw the team attempting to build on their surprising run into the playoffs the previous season. 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〔(New York Rangers add former Carolina Hurricanes forward Cullen ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 and defenseman Aaron Ward〔(Rangers sign defenceman Aaron Ward away from champion Hurricanes ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 from the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, in addition to three-time champion Brendan Shanahan〔(Free agent winger Brendan Shanahan signs with New York Rangers ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 from the Detroit Red Wings. However, the Rangers lost a few big names from their strong regular season run, including assistant captain Steve Rucchin,〔(Thrashers sign unrestricted free agents Steve Rucchin, Glen Metropolit ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 Martin Rucinsky,〔(St. Louis Blues sign free-agent forward Martin Rucinsky ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 Tom Poti〔(Poti leaves Rangers, signs one-year deal with rival Islanders ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 and Petr Sykora.〔(Free-agent forward Petr Sykora signs one-year deal with Oilers ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 ==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.〔(Rangers forward Brendan Shanahan scores twice to reach 600 NHL goals ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 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 the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks 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 shut-out 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 Washington Capitals in their final game of 2006. This win would key a four-game winning streak; however, the Rangers lost eight 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.〔(Rangers acquire forward Sean Avery in five-player swap with Kings ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 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 New Jersey 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 Brendan Shanahan to a concussion after an open ice collision with Mike Knuble in the third period.〔(Rangers forward Shanahan hospitalized following collision with Philadelphia's Knuble ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 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,〔(Tyutin out 3 to 4 weeks due to sprained knee ligament ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 Marcel Hossa〔(Rangers' Hossa out 3–to-4 weeks with knee injury ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 and Karel Rachunek,〔(Rangers D Rachunek joins growing list of injuries ) - accessed May 7, 2007 〕 all to medial collateral ligament (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 Sean Avery from Los Angeles. On their final night of the regular season, the Rangers lost 2–1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, but thanks to Tampa Bay's shootout loss to the Atlanta Thrashers, the Rangers locked up the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the second straight year. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2006–07 New York Rangers season」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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