On October 5, 2006, opening night of the 2006–07 season, Jagr was named the first team captain since Mark Messier's retirement. Though the Rangers started a bit slow in the first half of the 2006–07 season, the second half was dominated by the stellar goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist. On February 5, 2007 the Rangers acquired agitating forward Sean Avery in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings. The acquisition of Sean Avery brought new life and intensity to the team. Despite losing several players to injury in March, the Rangers went 10–2–3 in March to move into playoff position, and on April 5, clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season with a 3–1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The Rangers finished the season ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders, finishing in third place in the Atlantic Division and sixth place in the Eastern Conference for the second straight year. Facing the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round of the playoffs, the Rangers swept the series thanks to play from all around the ice. However, the Rangers lost the next round to the Buffalo Sabres by four games to two.