2011–12 New Jersey Devils season

New Jersey Devils

Industry	Professional ice hockey
Founded	1982 (moved from Colorado)
Headquarters	Newark , United States
Products	Ice hockey team

The 2011–12 New Jersey Devils season represented the team's 38th campaign in the NHL and their 30th since moving from Colorado in 1982. After failing to qualify for the playoffs the previous year, the Devils earned a postseason berth by finishing fourth in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. During the playoffs, they triumphed over the Southeast Division champions, the Florida Panthers, in a seven-game series, followed by a five-game victory against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Conference Semifinals. The Devils then defeated their rivals, the New York Rangers, in six games during the Conference Finals, advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2003. Ultimately, New Jersey was defeated by the Los Angeles Kings in six games.

Off-season

Throughout the 2011 off-season, the Devils focused on maintaining consistency in both coaching and player personnel. Key moves included re-signing team captain Zach Parise and securing their 2011 first-round pick at fourth overall, Adam Larsson, with an entry-level contract. General Manager and CEO Lou Lamoriello enhanced the goaltending depth by acquiring backup netminder Johan Hedberg and reinforced the defensive corps by signing Andy Greene to a four-year contract. To optimize player development pathways, the franchise ceased operations of their ECHL affiliate, the Trenton Devils, citing low attendance figures and strategic alignment with NHL minor league systems.

On July 19, 2011, Peter DeBoer was named head coach with the objective of guiding the team back into playoff contention.

Pre-season

On June 30, 2011, New Jersey unveiled a six-game pre-season slate that included three home contests at the Prudential Center against divisional rivals New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and Philadelphia Flyers. The schedule also featured two away games—visiting the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum and facing the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center—along with a neutral site matchup versus the Rangers held at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York.

Regular season

The Devils distinguished themselves with exceptional penalty-killing performance, allowing only 27 shorthanded goals—the fewest across the NHL—and establishing an NHL record with an 89.58% penalty-kill rate. They also led all teams by scoring 15 shorthanded goals but conceded a league-high 13 shorthanded goals against.

• December 17, 2011 – Patrik Eliáš became New Jersey’s all-time leading goal scorer by netting his 347th and 348th goals, surpassing former record-holder John MacLean.

Playoffs

New Jersey clinched its 20th playoff appearance in 22 seasons following a commanding 5–0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on March 31, 2012. The team finished with 102 points, ranking fourth in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. Returning from injury, center Travis Zajac spearheaded offensive efforts as New Jersey eliminated the Florida Panthers in a seven-game series that included overtime winners from Zajac and Henrique.

In their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup against division foes Philadelphia Flyers, initially regarded as underdogs, the Devils rebounded from early challenges including a Game 1 overtime defeat and an injury to star forward Ilya Kovalchuk. They responded with a decisive Game 2 win despite Kovalchuk’s absence; he returned strongly in Game 3 by assisting on an overtime-winning goal. The Devils then secured four consecutive victories to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2003.

Facing off against the New York Rangers in a highly anticipated rematch of their iconic 1994 series, both teams split the opening four games. The Devils’ fourth line—consisting of Ryan Carter, Stephen Gionta, and Steve Bernier—all of whom had been waived during the season, played a pivotal role by accumulating 19 points across three playoff rounds. New Jersey gained a 3–2 series advantage after Game 5 before Henrique scored an overtime goal in Game 6 to clinch the series and propel them to face the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals.

During the Finals, after dropping three straight games—including two overtime defeats on home ice—the Devils managed to avoid being swept but ultimately fell to Los Angeles in six games.

Preseason

1	September 21	NY Rangers	2–1 (OT)	Times Union Center (Albany, New York)	1–0–0
2	September 23	NY Rangers	3–4	Prudential Center	1–1–0
3	September 24	NY Islanders	2–6	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum	1–2–0
4	September 29	Philadelphia	1–2	Wells Fargo Center	1–3–0
5	September 30	NY Islanders	1–0	Prudential Center	2–3–0
6	October 1	Philadelphia	2–1	Prudential Center	3–3–0

Regular season

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	Record	Points
1	October 8	7:00pm	Philadelphia	L 0–3	Prudential Center	17,625	0–1–0	0
2	October 10	1:00pm	Carolina	W 4–2	Prudential Center	12,096	1–1–0	2
3	October 13	7:00pm	Los Angeles	W 2–1 SO	Prudential Center	12,256	2-1-0	4
4	October15	8:00pm	@Nashville	W 3-2 SO	Bridgestone Arena	17,113	3-1-0	6
5	October21	7:00pm	San Jose	OTL 3-4 SO	Prudential Center	14,319	3-1-1	7
6	October22	7:00pm	@Pittsburgh	L 1-4	Consol Energy Center	18,535	3-2-1	7
7	October25	10:30pm	@Los Angeles	W 3-0	Staples Center	18,118	4-2-1	9
8	October27	10:00pm	@Phoenix	L 3-5	Jobing.com Arena	7,434	4-3-1	9
9	October29	8:00pm	@Dallas	L 1-3	American Airlines Center	11,740	4-4-1	9

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	Record	Points
November2 |7:30pm |Toronto Maple Leafs |L 3-5 |Prudential Center |13,033 |4-5-1 |9
November3 |7:00pm |@Philadelphia |W 4-3 SO |Wells Fargo Center |19,667 |5-5-1 |11
November5 |7:00pm |Winnipeg Jets |W 3-2 OT |Prudential Center |14,952 |6-5-1 |13
November8 |7:30pm |Carolina |W 3-2 |Prudential Center |13,056 |7-5-1 |15
November11 |7:00pm |Washington Capitals |L 1-3 |Prudential Center |15,230 |7-6-1 |15
November12 |7:00pm |@Washington |W 3-2 SO |Verizon Center |18,506 |8-6-1 |17
November15 | 7:00pm | @Boston Bruins | L 3-4 | TD Garden | 17,565 | 8-7-1 | 17
November16 | 7:30pm | @Buffalo Sabres | W 5-3 | First Niagara Center | 18,690 | 9-7-1 | 19
November19 | 7:00pm | @Tampa Bay Lightning | W 4-2 | St. Pete Times Forum | 18,894 | 10-7-1 | 21
November21 | 7:30pm | @Florida Panthers | L 3-4 | BankAtlantic Center | 13,122 | 10-8-1 | 21
November23 | 7:00pm | Columbus Blue Jackets | W 2-1 SO | Prudential Center | 15,585 | 11-8-1 | 23
November25| 3:00pm| @New York Islanders| W 1-0| Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum| 15,358| 12-8-1| 25
November26| 1:00pm| NY Islanders| L 2-3| Prudential Center| 16,014| 12-9-1| 25
November30| 9:30pm| @Colorado Avalanche| L 1-6| Pepsi Center| 14,251| 12-10-1| 25

24 December 2 8:00 pm @ Minnesota Wild L 2−4 XCel Energy Center 17,310 12−11−1 25 25 December 3 7:00 pm @ Winnipeg L 2−4 MTS Centre 15,004 12−12−1 25 26 December 6 7:00 pm @ Toronto W 3−2 OT Air Canada Centre 19,513 13−12−1 27 27 December 8 7:00 pm Ottawa Senators W 5−4 SO Prudential Center 13,743 14−12−1 29 28 December 10 1:00 pm Montreal Canadiens L 1−2 Prudential Center 14,210 14−13−1 29 29 December 12 7:00 pm @ Tampa Bay W 5−4 St. Pete Times Forum 17,341 15−13−1 31 30 December 13 7:30 pm @ Florida W 3−2 SO BankAtlantic Center 14,669 16−13−1 33 31 December 16 7:00 pm Dallas W 6−3 Prudential Center 17,625 17−13−1 35 32 December 17 7:00 pm @ Montreal W 5−3 Bell Centre 21,273 18−13−1 37 33 December 20 7:00 pm New York Rangers L 1−4 Prudential Center 17,625 18−14−1 37 34 December 23 7:00 pm Washington W 4−3 SO Prudential Center 14,043 19−14−1 39 35 December 26 7:00 pm @ Carolina L 2−4 RBC Center 16,121 19−15−1 39 36 December 28 7:00 pm Buffalo W 3−1 Prudential Center 17,625 20−15−1 41 37 December 31 3:00 pm Pittsburgh W 3−1 Prudential Center 17,625 21−15−1 43

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	Record	Points

38| January 2| 7:30 pm| @ Ottawa| OTL 2–3 OT| Scotiabank Place| 19,573| 21–15–2| 44 39| January 4| 7:30 pm| Boston| L 1–6| Prudential Center| 15,832| 21–16–2| 44 40| January 6| 7:00 pm| Florida| W 5–2| Prudential Center| 15,793| 22–16–2| 46 41| January 7| 7:00 pm| @ Pittsburgh| W 3–1| Consol Energy Center| 18,594| 23–16–2| 48 42| January 10| 9:30 pm| @ Calgary Flames| L 3–6| Scotiabank Saddledome|| 19,289|| 23–17–2|| 48 43|| January 11|| 9:00 pm|| @ Edmonton Oilers|| W 2–1 OT|| Rexall Place|| 16,839|| 24–17–2|| 50 44|| January 14|| 3:00 pm|| @ Winnipeg|| W 2–1|| MTS Centre|| 15,004|| 25–17–2|| 52 45|| January 17|| 7:00 pm|| Winnipeg|| W 5–1|| Prudential Center|| 14,129|| 26–17–2|| 54 50 || February 2 || 7 PM || Montreal || W 5--3 || Prudential Center || 13,283 || 28--19--3 || 59 51 || February 4 || 01 PM || @ Philadelphia || W 6--4 || Wells Fargo Center || 19,862 || 29--19--3 || 61

Playoffs

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Notes	Goalie	Attendance	Series Status
1	April 13	New Jersey Devils	3–2	Florida Panthers		Brodeur	19,119	Devils lead 1-0
2	April 15	New Jersey Devils	2–4	Florida Panthers		Brodeur	19,248	Series tied 1-1
3	April 17	Florida Panthers	4–3	New Jersey Devils		Hedberg	17,625	Panthers lead 2-1
4	April 19	Florida Panthers	0–4	New Jersey Devils		Brodeur	17,625	Series tied 2-2
5	April 21	New Jersey Devils	0–3	Florida Panthers		Brodeur	19,513	Panthers lead 3-2
6	April 24	Florida Panthers	2–3	New Jersey Devils	OT	Brodeur	17,625	Series tied 3-3
7	April 26	New Jersey Devils	3–2	Florida Panthers	2OT	Brodeur	19,313	Devils win series 4-3

1	April 29	New Jersey Devils	3–4	Philadelphia Flyers	OT	Brodeur	19,972	Flyers lead series 1-0
2	May 1	New Jersey Devils	4–1	Philadelphia Flyers		Brodeur	20,131	Series tied at 1-1
3	May3	Philadelphia Flyers	3–4	New Jersey Devils	OT	Brodeur	17,625	Devils lead series 2-1
4	May6	Philadelphia Flyers	2–4	New Jersey Devils		Brodeur	17,625	Devils ahead in series 3-1
5	May8	New Jersey Devils	3–1	Philadelphia Flyers		Brodeur	20,145	Devils clinch series 4-1

1	May14	New Jersey Devils	0–3	New York Rangers		Brodeur	18,200	Rangers lead series 1-0
2	May16	New Jersey Devils	3–2	New York Rangers		Brodeur	18,200	Series tied at 1-1
3	May19	New York Rangers	3–0	New Jersey Devils		Brodeur	17,625	Rangers lead series 2-1
4	May21	New York Rangers	1–4	New Jersey Devils		Brodeur	17,625	Series evened at 2-2
5	May23	New Jersey Devils	5–3	New York Rangers		Brodeur	18,200	Devils ahead in series 3-2
6	May25	New York Rangers	2–3	New Jersey Devils	OT	Brodeur	17,625	Devils win series 4-2

1	May30	Los Angeles Kings	2–1	New Jersey Devils	OT	Brodeur	17,625	Kings lead series 1-0
2	June2	Los Angeles Kings	2–1	New Jersey Devils	OT	Brodeur	17,625	Kings lead series 2-0
3	June4	New Jersey Devils	0–4	Los Angeles Kings		Brodeur	18,764	Kings lead series 3-0
4	June6	New Jersey Devils	3–1	Los Angeles Kings		Brodeur	18,867	Kings trail series 1-3
5	June9	Los Angeles Kings	1–2	New Jersey Devils		Brodeur	17,625	Kings lead series narrowed to 3-2
6	June11	New Jersey Devils	1–6	Los Angeles Kings		Brodeur	18,858	Kings capture series with a 4-2 victory

Media

This season introduced Steve Cangialosi as the primary television play-by-play announcer for the Devils, accompanied by Deb Placey and Ken Daneyko who provided color commentary and studio insights. Radio broadcasts remained on WFAN (AM) 660, featuring Matt Loughlin and Sherry Ross as commentators.

Skaters

Note: GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus Rating; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Regular Season									Playoffs
#	Pos.	Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
17	Template:Sortname	W	77	37	46	83	-9	33	23	8	11	19	-7	6
26	Template:Sortname	LW/C	81	26	52	78	-8	16	24	5	3	8	-3	10
9	Template:Sortname	LW	82	31	38	69	-5	32	24	8	7	15	-8	4
14	Template:Sortname	C	74	16	35	51	8	7	24	5	8	13	12	11
23	Template:Sortname	RW	80	30	16	46	-8	138	24	3	9	12	8	32
15	Template:Sortname	W	82	21	23	44	4	40	18	2	3	5	3	6
8	Template:Sortname	C/RW	82	17	27	44	7	34	24	3	7	10	0	18
12	Template:Sortname†	LW	33	7	11	18	9	8	24	1	8	9	8	12
5	Template:Sortname	D	65	2	16	18	-7	20	5	1	0	1	3	4
29	Template:Sortname	D	82	4	13	17	-4	26	24	0	3	3	5	6
6	Template:Sortname	D	56	1	15	16	3	24	0	1	1	8
2	Template:Sortname†‡	D	28	3	9	12		-9		23		style="background:#ccc;"		style="background:#ccc;"		style="background:#ccc;"		style="background:#ccc;"
28	Template:Sortname	D	72	2	9	11	3	34	24	1	1	2	7	10
24	Template:Sortname	D	82	0	9	9	18	66	24	4	10	14	9	26
16	Template:Sortname	C	41	2	7	9	10	6	6	0	1	1	1	0
2		Template:Sortname†		D		22		2		6		8		0		10		24		1		8		9		-2		22
20		Template:Sortname†		C/LW		65		4		4		8		-12		84		23		5		2		7		4		32
32		Template:Sortname		D		30		1		6		7		6		4		—		—		—		—		—

Goaltenders

Regular Season Statistics
#	Player	GP	Min	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	Sv%	SO	G	A	PIM
30	Template:Sortname	59	3392	31	21	4	136	2.41	1472	.908	3	0	4	2
1	Template:Sortname	27	1591	17	7	2	59	2.23	718	.918	=4	=0	=0	=2

Playoffs Statistics
#	Player	GP	Min	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	Sv%	SO	G	A	PIM
30	Template:Sortname	=24	=1471	=14	=9	=52	=2.12	=629	=.917	=1	=0	=4	=0
1	= Template:Sortname	=1	=36	=0	=1	=1	=1.67	=14	=.929	=0	=0	=0	=0

Awards

Regular season honors

Player	Award	Timing
Ilya Kovalchuk	NHL first All-Star team – Left Wing	Conclusion of regular season
Adam Henrique	NHL All-Rookie team – Forward	Conclusion of regular season
Adam Henrique	NHL Rookie of the Month	December 2011
Ilya Kovalchuk	NHL Second Star of the Week	February & March 2012

Nominations

Regular season finalists

Player	Award	Result
Adam Henrique	Calder Memorial Trophy	Finalist

Milestones

Regular season achievements
Player	Milestone	Date
Adam Larsson	NHL debut along with first assist and point	Oct–Nov, 2011
David Clarkson & Andy Greene	Reached 300 career NHL games	Oct, 2011
Henrik Tallinder & Patrik Eliáš	Achieved 100 assists milestones	Oct & Dec, 2011
Adam Henrique	Scored first NHL goal	Nov, 2011
Dainius Zubrus	Marked 500 points and 1000 games played milestones	Nov, 2011
Anton Volchenkov, Ryan Carter, Cam Janssen, Steve Bernier, Eric Boulton	Career game milestones ranging from 200 to 600 games	Nov, 2011–Apr, 2012
Patrik Eliáš, Petr Sýkora, Zach Parise, Marek Židlický, Bryce Salvador, Andy Greene, Ilya Kovalchuk	Achieved significant career points/goals milestones between 100th and 400th	Dec, 2011–Mar, 2012
Stephen Gionta	Recorded first NHL goal and point	Apr, 2012

Transactions

Throughout the 2011–12 season, the Devils executed multiple important player transactions.

Trades

Date	Trade details
June 16, 2011	Traded to Minnesota Wild David McIntyre	Acquired by New Jersey Devils Maxim Noreau
July 14, 2011	Sent to Calgary Flames Pierre-Luc Létourneau-Leblond	Received by New Jersey Devils 5th round draft selection in 2012
July 28, 2011	Moved to New York Islanders Brian Rolston	Brought to New Jersey Devils Trent Hunter Conditional draft pick in 2012
October 4, 2011	Traded to Toronto Maple Leafs Dave Steckel	Acquired by New Jersey Devils 4th-round draft choice in 2012
December 12, 2011	Sent to Anaheim Ducks Mark Fraser Rod Pelley 7th-round pick in 2012	Received by New Jersey Devils Kurtis Foster Timo Pielmeier
January 20, 2012	Traded to Carolina Hurricanes Joe Sova 4th-round pick in 2012	Acquired by New Jersey Devils Alexei Ponikarovsky
February 24, 2012	Sent to Minnesota Wild Kurtis Foster Nick Palmieri Stéphane Veilleux 2nd-round pick in 2012 Conditional third-round draft pick in 2013	Received by New Jersey Devils Marek Židlický

Free agent acquisitions

Player	Previous team	Contract details
Cam Janssen	St. Louis Blues	1 year, $525,000
Eric Boulton	Atlanta Thrashers	2 years, $1.325 million
Peter Harrold	Los Angeles Kings	1 year, $550,000
Matt Anderson	Albany Devils	2 years, $1.05 million
Stephane Veilleux	HC Ambri-Piotta	1 year, $525,000
Petr Sykora	Dinamo Minsk	1 year, $650,000
Steve Bernier	Albany Devils	1 year, $525,000

Departed free agents

Player	Destination team	Contract details
Tyler Eckford	Phoenix Coyotes	1 year, $525,000
Mike McKenna	Ottawa Senators	1 year, $550,000
Colin White	San Jose Sharks	1 year, $1 million
Trent Hunter	Los Angeles Kings	1 year, $600,000

Players acquired through waivers

Player	Former club	Waiver claim date
Ryan Carter	Florida Panthers	October 26, 2011

Players lost via waivers

Player	New club	Waiver claim date

Contract signings

Player	Signing date	Contract details
Brandon Burlon	June 2, 2011	3 years, $1.9875 million entry-level deal
Jay Leach	June 22, 2011	1 year, $525,000
Andy Greene	July 1, 2011	4 years, $12 million total
Johan Hedberg	July 1, 2011	1 year, $1.25 million
Matt Corrente	July 14, 2011	1 year, $660,000
Vladimir Zharkov	July 14, 2011	1 year, $577,500
Adam Larsson	July 15, 2011	3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract
Mark Fraser	July 27, 2011	1 year, $550,000
Matt Taormina	July 27, 2011	1 year, $550,000
Zach Parise	July 29, 2011	1 year, $6 million
Maxime Clermont	August 22, 2011	3 years, $1.68 million entry-level contract
Brad Mills	August 22, 2011	1 year, $525,000
Tim Sestito	August 22, 2011	1 year, $525,000
Chad Wiseman	August 22, 2011	2 years, $1.05 million
Steven Zalewski	August 22, 2011	2 years, $1.05 million
Scott Wedgewood	March 19, 2012	3 years, $1.92 million entry-level contract

Draft selections

At the 2011 NHL entry draft, held on June 24 at the Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul in Minnesota, the New Jersey Devils made several picks. Team CEO and general manager Lou Lamoriello expressed great enthusiasm about selecting Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson, who was chosen fourth overall — the franchise’s highest draft position since taking Scott Neidermayer third overall in the draft of 1991.

3 4 5 6 7

Round	Overall pick #	Player name	Position	Nationality	Club/Junior/College team (League)
1	4	Adam Larsson	D	Template:Country data SWETemplate:Namespace detect showall Sweden	Skelleftea AIK (Elitserien)
3	"69"	"Forfeited pick"
"75"	"Blake Coleman"	"C"	"United States"	"Indiana Ice (USHL)"
"99"	"Reid Boucher"	"C"	"United States"	"U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL)"
"129"	"Blake Pietila"	"LW"	"United States"	"U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL)"
"159"	"Reece Scarlett"	"D"	"Canada"	"Swift Current Broncos (WHL)"
"189"	"Patrick Daly "	"D"	"United States"	"Benilde-St. Margaret's High School "

Notes

See also

• 2011–12 NHL season