2011–12 Boston Bruins season

The 2011–12 Boston Bruins season was the 88th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on November 1, 1924.[1] The Bruins entered the 2011–12 season as the defending Stanley Cup champions.

2011–12 Boston Bruins
Northeast Division champions
Division1st Northeast
Conference2nd Eastern
2011–12 record49–29–4
Home record24–15–3
Road record25–14–1
Goals for262
Goals against202
Team information
General managerPeter Chiarelli
CoachClaude Julien
CaptainZdeno Chara
Alternate captainsPatrice Bergeron
Andrew Ference
Chris Kelly
ArenaTD Garden
Average attendance17,565 (100%)
Total: 737,730 (42 games)
Team leaders
GoalsTyler Seguin (29)
AssistsPatrice Bergeron (42)
PointsTyler Seguin (67)
Penalty minutesShawn Thornton (154)
Plus/minusPatrice Bergeron (+36)
WinsTim Thomas (35)
Goals against averageAnton Khudobin (1.00)

Off-season edit

Veteran forward Mark Recchi retired. Forward Michael Ryder went to the Dallas Stars via free agency, and defenseman Tomas Kaberle went to the Carolina Hurricanes. Forward Benoit Pouliot was signed.

Regular season edit

The Bruins' opened the regular season with a home loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, whom they had swept in round two of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs just five months earlier. They recorded their first regular season success against the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 8, a 4–1 home victory against their 2011 Conference Final opponents. The Bruins closed out the month of October with a home-and-home series defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, en route to the worst start by a defending champion since the current playoff platform was adopted in 1994.[2][3] The back-to-back losses at the hands of their hated rivals proved the catalyst to a resurgence that saw the team secure at least a point in every game through November, the first time the franchise went undefeated in regulation for an entire calendar month since January 1969.[4] During this run, defending Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas posted a 9–0–0 record and earned First Star honors for the month.[5]

With a win over the New York Islanders on March 31, the Bruins clinched an Eastern conference playoff berth. On April 1, the Bruins won the Northeast Division title by defeating the New York Rangers, 2–1.

The Bruins allowed only one shorthanded goal all the season, the lowest total of all 30 teams.[6]

Playoffs edit

The Boston Bruins qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. The Bruins lost in the first round to the Washington Capitals in a seven-game series 4–3.

Standings edit

Northeast Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 y – Boston Bruins 82 49 29 4 40 269 202 +67 102
2 x – Ottawa Senators 82 41 31 10 35 249 240 +9 92
3 Buffalo Sabres 82 39 32 11 32 218 230 −12 89
4 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 35 37 10 31 231 264 −33 80
5 Montreal Canadiens 82 31 35 16 26 212 226 −14 78
Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division
Eastern Conference
Pos Div Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 AT z – New York Rangers 82 51 24 7 47 226 187 +39 109
2 NE y – Boston Bruins 82 49 29 4 40 269 202 +67 102
3 SE y – Florida Panthers 82 38 26 18 32 203 227 −24 94
4 AT x – Pittsburgh Penguins 82 51 25 6 42 282 221 +61 108
5 AT x – Philadelphia Flyers 82 47 26 9 43 264 232 +32 103
6 AT x – New Jersey Devils 82 48 28 6 36 228 209 +19 102
7 SE x – Washington Capitals 82 42 32 8 38 222 230 −8 92
8 NE x – Ottawa Senators 82 41 31 10 35 249 240 +9 92
9 NE Buffalo Sabres 82 39 32 11 32 218 230 −12 89
10 SE Tampa Bay Lightning 82 38 36 8 35 235 281 −46 84
11 SE Winnipeg Jets 82 37 35 10 33 225 246 −21 84
12 SE Carolina Hurricanes 82 33 33 16 32 213 243 −30 82
13 NE Toronto Maple Leafs 82 35 37 10 31 231 264 −33 80
14 AT New York Islanders 82 34 37 11 27 203 255 −52 79
15 NE Montreal Canadiens 82 31 35 16 26 212 226 −14 78
Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division; z – Clinched conference

Schedule and results edit

Pre-season edit

Regular season edit

2011–12 game log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs edit

2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs
  • Scorer of game-winning goal in italics

Player statistics edit

Skaters edit

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltenders edit

Note: GPI = Games played in; MIN = Minutes played; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SV% = Save percentage

Awards and records edit

Awards edit

Player Award Notes
Tyler Seguin[13] NHL First Star of the Week November 14, 2011
Tim Thomas[14] NHL First Star of the Month November 2011
Brad Marchand[15] NHL First Star of the Week December 26, 2011
Zdeno Chara[16] NHL Second Star of the Week April 2, 2012

Milestones edit

Regular season
Player Milestone Reached
David Krejci 300th career NHL game October 8, 2011
Brad Marchand 100th career NHL game October 10, 2011
Chris Kelly 500th career NHL game November 7, 2011
Adam McQuaid 100th career NHL game November 21, 2011
Milan Lucic 300th career NHL game November 26, 2011
Rich Peverley 100th career NHL assist November 26, 2011
Benoit Pouliot 200th career NHL game November 26, 2011
Rich Peverley 300th career NHL game December 6, 2011
Tyler Seguin 100th career NHL game December 8, 2011
Milan Lucic 100th career NHL assist December 10, 2011
Chris Kelly 200th career NHL point December 14, 2011
Shawn Thornton 400th career NHL game December 17, 2011
Joe Corvo 600th career NHL game December 19, 2011
Zdeno Chara 300th career NHL assist January 5, 2012
Patrice Bergeron 500th career NHL game January 19, 2012
Dennis Seidenberg 500th career NHL game January 21, 2012
Tuukka Rask 100th career NHL game February 17, 2012
Carter Camper 1st career NHL game February 22, 2012
Carter Camper 1st career NHL goal
1st career NHL point
February 25, 2012
Gregory Campbell 500th career NHL game February 25, 2012
Lane MacDermid 1st career NHL game March 11, 2012
Joe Corvo 200th career NHL assist March 6, 2012
Milan Lucic 200th career NHL point March 6, 2012
Max Sauve 1st career NHL game March 11, 2012
Andrew Ference 700th career NHL game March 15, 2012
Zdeno Chara 1,000th career NHL game March 24, 2012
Benoit Pouliot 100th career NHL point March 25, 2012
Johnny Boychuk 200th career NHL game March 31, 2012
Torey Krug 1st career NHL game April 3, 2012
Torey Krug 1st career NHL assist
1st career NHL point
April 5, 2012
Patrice Bergeron 400th career NHL point April 7, 2012

Transactions edit

The Bruins have been involved in the following transactions during the 2011–12 season, or the off-season between the previous season and this season.