# 2011–12 Ottawa Senators season

The 2011–12 Ottawa Senators season was the 20th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was considered a rebuilding season for the Senators after an off-season of high player personnel turnover and the hiring of a new head coach. Although the Senators were not expected to make the playoffs, the team qualified eighth. The team lost, however, in the first round to the first-place New York Rangers, although they took the series to a seventh game. Three Senators were nominated for NHL awards: captain Daniel Alfredsson for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, Erik Karlsson for the James Norris Trophy and Head Coach Paul MacLean for the Jack Adams Award. The Senators hosted the NHL All-Star Game and its festivities. Alfredsson was named captain of one of the teams and five Senators played in the Game.

## Team business

On May 19, 2011, the Ottawa Senators were awarded the Ottawa United Way Community Builder of the Year Award for over $60 million in charitable fund-raising in the past ten years, support of youth hockey and the founding of the "Do It For Daron" initiative for mental health in honour of Daron Richardson, the daughter of Ottawa Senators assistant coach Luke Richardson, who took her own life in November 2010. On May 20, 2011, the Senators announced the "Rink of Dreams" project to build an outdoor skating rink at Ottawa City Hall. The rink is to cost $1.25 million, $1 million of which would be funded by the Senators Foundation charity.
In December 2011, the Senators officially announced the replacement of the scoreboard at Scotiabank Place. The old scoreboard dated from 1996, and its replacement had been rumoured in the media since the time of the announcement that the All-Star Game would be played in the arena. The new scoreboard, to be supplied by Panasonic, uses four high-definition video screens, plus two LED "rings", one above the scoreboards and one below. While the old scoreboard had video screens, the new screens are much larger in size and have a larger number of pixels per screen. The scoreboard was first used for the December 27, 2011, game against the Montreal Canadiens. For the game, only the four video screens were in place; the LED rings were to be operational for the All-Star Game.

## 2012 NHL All-Star Game

The Senators were the hosts of the 59th NHL All-Star Game in January 2012. The Ottawa Convention Centre hosted a Fan Fair of fan activities from the Thursday until Saturday. The Rideau Canal had to close due to mild weather, but the Senators' new Rink of Dreams was able to be used in its place. Confederation Park was used for ice sculptures and displays.
In the annual All-Star Game voting, Senators fans voted four members of the team to the All-Star roster: Daniel Alfredsson, Erik Karlsson, Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza. Karlsson led all players in voting with over 939,591 votes cast. Colin Greening was added later by the NHL operations department. Alfredsson was named captain of one team and was able to put the Senators onto his team, except for Greening, who was selected at random for the other All-Star team, coached by former Senator Zdeno Chara. Senators' fans in attendance at the game were thrilled when Alfredsson scored two consecutive goals in the second period, giving him a standing ovation.

## Off-season

After firing Head Coach Cory Clouston at the end of their 2010–11 season, the Senators began a search for a new head coach. According to media reports, Bryan Murray interviewed several candidates for the job, including Kurt Kleinendorst (coach of the Binghamton Senators), Dave Cameron (coach of the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors), Craig MacTavish (former coach of the Edmonton Oilers), Paul MacLean (assistant coach of the Detroit Red Wings) and Kirk Muller (assistant coach of the Montreal Canadiens). On June 14, 2011, the Senators announced the signing of Paul MacLean to a three-year contract as the new head coach. On June 23, 2011, Dave Cameron and Mark Reeds were hired as his assistant coaches. Reeds was the head coach of the Owen Sound Attack from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
The Senators unveiled a new third jersey on October 1, 2011. The new third jersey replaces the "SENS" design third jersey. The New Jersey is primarily black, with horizontal red and off-white stripes in a pattern reminiscent of the original Ottawa Senators jersey of 1926–27. The team will wear the jersey 11 times at home and once on the road. The symbolism of the number 11 corresponds to the number of Stanley Cup championships the original Senators won.

## Pre-season

On June 22, 2011, the Senators announced that they would be playing seven games during the pre-season – three games at home, three games on the road and one neutral-site game. The team will play divisional rivals Toronto, Montreal and Boston twice each. Meanwhile, the Senators will also play the Winnipeg Jets once in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, as part of the Kraft Hockeyville Celebrations. The game was moved to Mile One Centre by Conception Bay South to maximize the use of arena upgrade dollars for renovations, instead of preparing their arena for the exhibition game.
The Senators held a rookie camp in early September. The rookies participated in a rookie tournament in Oshawa, Ontario, with rookies of the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs. The team won all of its games in the tournament. All members of the rookie camp were invited to the main training camp, which started on September 16 at Scotiabank Place and the Bell Sensplex.

## Regular season

The Senators opened the season on October 7, 2011, at the Detroit Red Wings. The Senators finished the season on April 7, 2012. 81 of 82 games were televised, either on CBC, RDS, Sportsnet, TSN or TVA. The sole game not televised was a visit to the Florida Panthers on February 15, 2012. The NHL later organized a video feed available to NHL Centre Ice subscribers in Ottawa for the Panthers game.
The Senators had their home opener on October 11, 2011, against the Minnesota Wild. Since it is the franchise's 20th anniversary season, the Senators had special celebrations. With 14 members of the 1992–93 team in attendance, Laurie Boschman, the 1992–93 team's captain, dropped the puck on the ceremonial face-off. The team went on to win the game 4–3 via shoot-out. It was head coach Paul MacLean's first win as a head coach in the NHL.
Nikita Filatov, a 21-year-old Russian player (and former first-round pick) acquired in a trade at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, had an up-and-down season between Ottawa and Binghamton before being loaned to CKSA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in December; he played for CSKA for the remainder of the season. Filatov was to be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and general manager Bryan Murray indicated that the club had not given up on Filatov, and would put in at least a qualifying offer at season's end.
The Senators made a trade in December 2011 for the Phoenix Coyotes' Kyle Turris in exchange for David Rundblad and a draft pick. After Turris arrived in Ottawa, the team won ten of 13 games, and had a nine-game unbeaten streak over the end of December into January. The run pushed the Senators up into a playoff position. On December 17, the Senators were in tenth position. On January 20, the Senators were as high as fourth in the Eastern Conference.
In February, goaltender Craig Anderson cut the pinky finger on his right hand while preparing food at home. The injury put him out of action as the cut made him unable to hold the goal stick while the injury healed. The Senators made a trade to improve the organizational depth at goaltender, trading for Ben Bishop of the St. Louis Blues. Bishop was playing for the Blues' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate and was due to become an unrestricted free agent. Bishop had won the MVP award at the AHL 2012 All-Star Game and was considered one of the best prospects outside the NHL. Before the trade, the Senators had recalled Robin Lehner from Binghamton and Bishop reported to Binghamton. Although Lehner played well and earned his first NHL shutout, Lehner was sent to Binghamton in early March and Bishop recalled to Ottawa. While Ottawa continued to earn points, division leader Boston struggled, and the Senators found winning the division feasible. On March 16, the Senators moved past the Bruins into first place in the Northeast Division and second overall in the Eastern Conference. The lead lasted one day, but the Senators qualified for the playoffs, an unexpected development that made head coach MacLean a candidate for coach of the year.

## Playoffs

The Senators succeeded in making the playoffs after missing them in the 2010–11 season, with a 5–1 win over the New York Islanders on April 1, 2012. The Hockey News had predicted that the Senators would finish last in the Eastern Conference and miss the playoffs.

### Senators vs. Rangers

The Senators qualified in eighth place, drawing the first-place New York Rangers in the first round. Although the Senators won three out of four games during the regular season between the two teams, the NHL Network predicted the Rangers will win in five or six games. ESPN predicted the Rangers would win in seven games. It was the first New York–Ottawa series since the first Senators played the Rangers in 1927–28, and the last until 2016-17.
In the first game, the Rangers scored once in the first, and twice in the second to take a 3–0 lead into the third period. In the third, the Rangers scored to make it 4–0 before Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Condra scored in the last ten minutes. It was close until the middle of the game. The Rangers were leading 1–0 late in the second period and the Senators were pressing for an equalizer. The Rangers took a time-out and from there, scored three times in six minutes ( from the second into the third period) to build the lead the Senators could not overcome.
In game two, the Senators added two players known for fighting to the roster: Matt Carkner and Zenon Konopka, changes described by coach MacLean as done in response to the Rangers' Brian Boyle's rough treatment of Erik Karlsson. After only two minutes of play, Carkner was ejected from the game for fighting Boyle, who did not want to fight Carkner, and punching him after Boyle went down to the ice. The Rangers' Brandon Dubinsky jumped into the fight and was ejected for being the third man into a fight. In the second period, the Rangers' Carl Hagelin elbowed Alfredsson and was ejected. In the game itself, the Rangers took a one-goal lead after one period. The Senators equalized during the match penalty to Hagelin to leave the game tied after two. In the third, Boyle scored to put the Rangers ahead, but Nick Foligno tied the score with four minutes to play. In the overtime, the Senators applied pressure from the start, and Chris Neil scored to win the game for the Senators after only one minute of overtime. For their actions during the game, the NHL later gave Hagelin a three-game suspension, and Carkner a one-game suspension.
Alfredsson did not return for game three, as he was still suffering from a concussion from the Hagelin hit. The first star of the game was the Rangers' goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped all 39 Senators shots on net for a shutout. The game was scoreless until the third period when the Rangers' Boyle scored on a backhand after the puck bounced off the back boards directly to him nearly in front of the Senators' goaltender Craig Anderson, who stopped 21 of 22 shots. It was the only goal of the match. Lundqvist preserved the win with a save in the final minute on Kyle Turris, who was alone in front of the Rangers' goal with the Senators pressing and their goaltender pulled for an extra attacker.
In game four, it was the Ottawa goalie Anderson's turn to save a game. After giving up two power play goals by the Rangers in the first few minutes, he stopped the Rangers the rest of the way. In the second period, the Senators tied the game on goals by Milan Michalek and Sergei Gonchar. No goals were scored leading to the second overtime of the series. In the overtime, the Senators' Kyle Turris scored his first-ever overtime goal to tie the series after four games, ensuring a game six in Ottawa. Ottawa captain Alfredsson missed another game. It was the first victory at home by the Senators since the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.
The fifth game, in New York, saw Anderson continue to hold off the Rangers, stopping all of their shots for a 2–0 shutout victory. Junior call up Mark Stone made an impression, setting up the winning goal of the game by Spezza in the first period. Spezza added an empty net goal to seal the victory. It was Stone's NHL debut.
Game six was played in Ottawa with the Senators having a chance to eliminate the Rangers. The Senators scored the first goal of the game in the first period on a power play. With Anderson continuing to hold off the Rangers, it appeared the Senators might have scored enough. It all changed in the second period with three goals by the Rangers, including a pair on the power play, to put the Rangers ahead 3–1. Anderson's shutout streak of the Rangers ended at 145 minutes, 27 seconds. In the third, Senators' coach Paul MacLean benched stars Spezza and Alfredsson in a ploy to turn their games around, but it was ineffective. Alfredsson himself showed a rare temper outburst on the bench, due to his frustration. The Senators scored a goal on a disputed play in the last minute, but it was too little, too late. The game was the NHL debut for Senators prospect Jakob Silfverberg, who had just finished playing in the Swedish Elitserien playoffs.
The series shifted to New York for the deciding game seven. Like game six, the deciding goals were scored in the second period. The Rangers scored a pair of goals to go ahead 2–0, while Alfredsson replied on the power play for the Senators. The third period was scoreless. Alfredsson was considered to be the best player for the Senators in the game, and there was considerable speculation after the game that it might be the last game of his NHL career.

## Standings

Northeast Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | 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 |
Eastern Conference :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | 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 |

## Schedule and results
### Pre-season

2011 pre-season game log: 3–3–1 (Home: 1–1–1; Road: 2–2–0)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreDecisionLocationAttendanceRecap
1September 197:00 pmToronto2–4LehnerAir Canada Centre18,556
2September 217:30 pmBoston2 – 1 (OT)AuldScotiabank Place16,492
3September 237:30 pmMontreal3 – 4 (SO)AndersonScotiabank Place17,583
4September 247:00 pmMontreal3–2LehnerBell Centre21,273
5September 264:00 pmWinnipeg1–3AuldMile One Centre (St. John's, NFLD)6,275
6September 277:30 pmToronto3–5LehnerScotiabank Place18,831
7September 297:00 pmBoston2–1AndersonTD Garden16,763 :

### Regular season

2011 regular season game log: 41–28–10 (Home: 20–15–4; Road: 21–13–6) :
October (Games: 12; Home: 7; Road: 5) (Record: 7–5–0; Home: 5–2–0; Road: 2–3–0)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
1October 77:00 pmDetroit3–5AndersonJoe Louis Arena20,0660–1–00
2October 87:00 pmToronto5–6AuldAir Canada Centre19,3240–2–00
3October 117:30 pmMinnesota4 – 3 (SO)AndersonScotiabank Place19,4551–2–02
4October 137:30 pmColorado1–7AndersonScotiabank Place19,2391–3–02
5October 157:00 pmWashington1–2AuldVerizon Center18,5061–4–02
6October 187:30 pmPhiladelphia2–7AuldScotiabank Place18,0591–5–02
7October 207:30 pmWinnipeg4–1AndersonScotiabank Place17,9192–5–04
8October 227:00 pmColumbus4–3AndersonScotiabank Place18,8673–5–06
9October 257:00 pmCarolina3 – 2 (SO)AndersonRBC Center12,0834–5–08
10October 277:30 pmFlorida4–3AndersonScotiabank Place18,1655–5–010
11October 293:00 pmNY Rangers5 – 4 (SO)AndersonMadison Square Garden18,2006–5–012
12October 307:30 pmToronto3–2LehnerScotiabank Place19,5227–5–014 :
November (Games: 12; Home: 4; Road: 8) (Record: 5–5–2; Home: 1–2–1; Road: 4–3–1)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
13November 17:00 pmBoston3–5AndersonTD Garden17,5657–6–014
14November 47:30 pmMontreal1–2AndersonScotiabank Place20,3297–7–014
15November 57:00 pmBuffalo2 – 3 (SO)AndersonScotiabank Place18,8057–7–115
16November 97:30 pmNY Rangers2–3AndersonScotiabank Place19,5437–8–115
17November 117:30 pmBuffalo1–5AndersonFirst Niagara Center18,6907–9–115
18November 127:00 pmToronto5–2AndersonAir Canada Centre19,5538–9–117
19November 159:00 pmCalgary3–1AndersonScotiabank Saddledome19,2899–9–119
20November 179:30 pmEdmonton5–2AndersonRexall Place16,83910–9–121
21November 209:00 pmVancouver1 – 2 (OT)AuldRogers Arena18,89010–9–222
22November 257:00 pmPittsburgh3–6AndersonConsol Energy Center18,61010–10–222
23November 275:00 pmCarolina4–3AndersonScotiabank Place19,65611–10–224
24November 298:30 pmWinnipeg6–4AndersonMTS Centre15,00412–10–226 :
December (Games: 15; Home: 9; Road: 6) (Record: 7–5–3; Home: 5–4–0; Road: 2–1–3)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
25December 18:30 pmDallas2–3AndersonAmerican Airlines Center10,49012–11–226
26December 37:00 pmWashington2 – 3 (OT)AndersonVerizon Center18,50612–11–327
27December 57:30 pmTampa Bay4–2AndersonScotiabank Place18,74213–11–329
28December 77:00 pmWashington3–5AndersonScotiabank Place17,77113–12–329
29December 87:00 pmNew Jersey4 – 5 (SO)AuldPrudential Center13,74313–12–430
30December 107:00 pmVancouver1–4AndersonScotiabank Place19,17113–13–430
31December 137:00 pmBuffalo3 – 2 (OT)AndersonFirst Niagara Center18,69014–13–432
32December 147:30 pmBoston2–5AndersonScotiabank Place18,08814–14–432
33December 167:30 pmPittsburgh6–4AuldScotiabank Place19,71015–14–434
34December 207:30 pmBuffalo4–1AndersonScotiabank Place18,47416–14–436
35December 227:30 pmFlorida4 – 3 (OT)AndersonScotiabank Place19,29617–14–438
36December 237:00 pmCarolina1 – 2 (OT)AndersonRBC Center14,55617–14–539
37December 277:30 pmMontreal2–6AndersonScotiabank Place20,50017–15–539
38December 307:30 pmCalgary4–3 (OT)AndersonScotiabank Place20,50018–15–541
39December 317:00 pmBuffalo3–2 (SO)AndersonFirst Niagara Center18,69019–15–543 :
January (Games: 14; Home: 4; Road: 10) (Record: 8–5–1; Home: 3–1–0; Road: 5–4–1)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
40January 27:30 pmNew Jersey3 – 2 (OT)AndersonScotiabank Place19,57320–15–545
41January 57:30 pmTampa Bay4–1AndersonScotiabank Place19,99421–15–547
42January 71:00 pmPhiladelphia2 – 3 (OT)AndersonWells Fargo Center19,79221–15–648
43January 85:00 pmPhiladelphia6–4AndersonScotiabank Place20,02822–15–650
44January 107:00 pmPittsburgh5–1AndersonConsol Energy Center18,60323–15–652
45January 127:00 pmNY Rangers3–0AndersonMadison Square Garden18,20024–15–654
46January 147:00 pmMontreal3 – 2 (SO)AndersonBell Centre21,27325–15–656
47January 167:30 pmWinnipeg0–2AndersonScotiabank Place19,92725–16–656
48January 177:00 pmToronto3–2AndersonAir Canada Centre19,61526–16–658
49January 1910:30 pmSan Jose4–1AndersonHP Pavilion17,56227–16–660
50January 214:00 pmAnaheim1–2AndersonHonda Center15,50027–17–660
51January 2310:30 pmLos Angeles1–4AndersonStaples Center18,11827–18–660
52January 249:00 pmPhoenix2–3AndersonJobing.com Arena8,06127–19–660
53January 317:00 pmBoston3–4AndersonTD Garden17,56527–20–660 :
February (Games: 12; Home: 8; Road: 4) (Record: 7–3–2; Home: 3–3–2; Road: 4–0–0)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
54February 37:30 pmNY Islanders1 – 2 (OT)AndersonScotiabank Place18,25227–20–761
55February 47:00 pmToronto0–5AndersonScotiabank Place20,50027–21–761
56February 77:30 pmSt. Louis1–3AndersonScotiabank Place18,95227–22–761
57February 97:30 pmNashville4–3AuldScotiabank Place18,59228–22–763
58February 112:00 pmEdmonton3 – 4 (OT)AndersonScotiabank Place20,08528–22–864
59February 147:00 pmTampa Bay4–0AndersonSt. Pete Times Forum17,48829–22–866
60February 157:30 pmFlorida6–2AndersonBankAtlantic Center14,03830–22–868
61February 201:00 pmNY Islanders6–0AndersonNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum15,81831–22–870
62February 227:00 pmWashington5–2AndersonScotiabank Place18,35732–22–872
63February 257:00 pmBoston3–5AuldScotiabank Place19,44432–23–872
64February 265:00 pmNY Islanders5–2LehnerScotiabank Place19,66033–23–874
65February 287:00 pmBoston1–0LehnerTD Garden17,56534–23–876 :
March (Games: 13; Home: 7; Road: 6) (Record: 6–5–2; Home: 3–3–1; Road: 3–2–1)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
66March 27:00 pmChicago1–2LehnerScotiabank Place18,78834–24–876
67March 46:00 pmFlorida2–4LehnerBankAtlantic Center15,81134–25–876
68March 67:30 pmTampa Bay7–3BishopSt. Pete Times Forum18,96735–25–878
69March 87:30 pmNY Rangers4–1BishopScotiabank Place18,85436–25–880
70March 107:00 pmBuffalo3 – 4 (SO)BishopScotiabank Place19,95136–25–981
71March 147:30 pmMontreal2 – 3 (SO)BishopBell Centre21,27336–25–1082
72March 167:00 pmMontreal2 – 1 (OT)BishopScotiabank Place20,50037–25–1084
73March 177:00 pmToronto1–3BishopScotiabank Place20,50037–26–1084
74March 207:30 pmNew Jersey0–1BishopScotiabank Place19,83437–27–1084
75March 237:30 pmMontreal1–5AndersonBell Centre21,27337–28–1084
76March 247:00 pmPittsburgh8–4AndersonScotiabank Place20,07638–28–1086
77March 268:30 pmWinnipeg6–4AndersonMTS Centre15,00439–28–1088
78March 311:00 pmPhiladelphia4 – 3 (SO)AndersonWells Fargo Center19,82240–28–1090 :
April (Games: 4; Home: 2; Road: 2) (Record: 1–3–0; Home: 0–2–0; Road: 1–1–0)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
79April 13:00 pmNY Islanders5–1AndersonNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum14,21041–28–1092
80April 37:30 pmCarolina1–2AndersonScotiabank Place19,48441–29–1092
81April 57:30 pmBoston1–3BishopScotiabank Place20,50041–30–1092
82April 73:00 pmNew Jersey2–4AndersonPrudential Center17,62541–31–1092 :

### Playoffs

Eastern Conference Quarter-final – #8 Senators vs. #1 Rangers – Rangers win series 4–3
GameDateTimeScoreDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordRecap
1April 127 pm2–4AndersonMadison Square Garden18,2000–1
2April 147 pm3–2 (OT)AndersonMadison Square Garden18,2001–1
3April 167:30 pm0–1AndersonScotiabank Place20,1821–2
4April 187:30 pm3–2 (OT)AndersonScotiabank Place20,3402–2
5April 217 pm2–0AndersonMadison Square Garden18,2003–2
6April 237 pm2–3AndersonScotiabank Place20,5003–3
7April 267 pm1–2AndersonMadison Square Garden18,2003–4
Notes: S.^ Sell-out (over 19,153 at Scotiabank Place). :

## Player statistics

Source: Ottawa Senators. Source: NHL.

### Scoring

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Jason Spezza | 80 | 34 | 50 | 84 | 11 | 36 |
| Erik Karlsson | 81 | 19 | 59 | 78 | 16 | 42 |
| Milan Michalek | 77 | 35 | 25 | 60 | 4 | 32 |
| Daniel Alfredsson | 75 | 27 | 32 | 59 | 16 | 18 |
| Nick Foligno | 82 | 15 | 32 | 47 | 2 | 124 |
| Colin Greening | 82 | 17 | 20 | 37 | −4 | 46 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 74 | 5 | 32 | 37 | −4 | 55 |
| Filip Kuba | 73 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 26 | 26 |
| Kyle Turris$^†$ | 49 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 12 | 27 |
| Chris Neil | 72 | 13 | 15 | 28 | −10 | 178 |
| Zack Smith | 81 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 4 | 98 |
| Erik Condra | 81 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 11 | 30 |
| Chris Phillips | 80 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 12 | 16 |
| Jared Cowen | 82 | 5 | 12 | 17 | −4 | 56 |
| Bobby Butler | 56 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 12 |
| Kaspars Daugavins | 65 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −2 | 12 |
| Brian Lee$^‡$ | 35 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −2 | 27 |
| Jesse Winchester | 32 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 22 |
| Jim O'Brien | 28 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Zenon Konopka | 55 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −4 | 193 |
| Stephane Da Costa | 22 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −9 | 8 |
| Peter Regin | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| David Rundblad$^‡$ | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −11 | 6 |
| Matt Carkner | 29 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 33 |
| Matt Gilroy$^†$ | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Rob Klinkhammer | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Nikita Filatov | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Mika Zibanejad | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 2 |
| Mike Hoffman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Andre Petersson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Borowiecki | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Jason Spezza | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| Nick Foligno | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 8 |
| Chris Neil | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 22 |
| Kyle Turris | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
| Daniel Alfredsson | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −3 | 0 |
| Filip Kuba | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| Zenon Konopka | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Milan Michalek | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Chris Phillips | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Matt Carkner | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 21 |
| Colin Greening | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Erik Condra | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim O'Brien | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Zack Smith | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 10 |
| Erik Karlsson | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Jared Cowen | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 4 |
| Mark Stone | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kaspars Daugavins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Jesse Winchester | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Matt Gilroy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jakob Silfverberg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bobby Butler | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltending

Source: NHL.
Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OTL | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Craig Anderson | 63 | 3492 | 33 | 22 | 6 | 165 | 2.84 | 1917 | .914 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Alex Auld | 14 | 645 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 36 | 3.35 | 310 | .884 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Bishop$^†$ | 10 | 532 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 2.48 | 243 | .909 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Robin Lehner | 5 | 299 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 2.01 | 154 | .935 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Craig Anderson | 7 | 419 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 2.00 | 208 | .933 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Senators. Stats reflect time with Senators only. $^‡$Traded mid-season.
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Awards/Milestones
### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Jason Spezza | NHL Second Star of the Week | October 24, 2011 |
| Jason Spezza | NHL First Star of the Week | December 19, 2011 |
| Craig Anderson | NHL Third Star of the Week | January 9, 2012 |
| Craig Anderson | NHL First Star of the Week | January 16, 2012 |
| Daniel Alfredsson | NHL Third Star of the Week | January 30, 2012 |
| Jason Spezza | NHL Third Star of the Week | February 20, 2012 |
| Erik Karlsson | NHL First Star of the Week | February 27, 2012 |
| Erik Karlsson | NHL Second Star of the Month | February 2012 |
| Craig Anderson | Molson Cup | April 2012 |

#### NHL awards

| Norris Trophy | Erik Karlsson |
| King Clancy Trophy | Daniel Alfredsson |
| First All-Star team | Erik Karlsson |

### Records

The Senators set a new franchise record for the fastest two goals scored on October 8, 2011, in a 6–5 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. The first goal was scored by Jason Spezza at 15:36 of the third period, while the second goal was scored eight seconds later by Daniel Alfredsson. The previous record was nine seconds, set the previous season.
On February 22, 2012, Erik Karlsson set a new franchise record for assists by a defenceman in a single season by tallying two assists, bringing his total to 47, in a 5–2 victory over the Washington Capitals. The previous record was held by Norm MacIver, who tallied 46 assists during the modern franchise's inaugural season in 1992–93.
On February 26, 2012, Erik Karlsson set a new franchise record for points by a defenceman in a single season by tallying two assists, bringing his points total to 65, in a 5–2 victory over the New York Islanders. The previous record was held by Norm MacIver, who tallied 63 points during the modern franchise's inaugural season in 1992–93.

### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Achievement | Date |
| Mika Zibanejad | 1st NHL game 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | October 7, 2011 |
| Stephane Da Costa | 1st NHL goal 1st NHL point | October 8, 2011 |
| David Rundblad | 1st NHL game | October 11, 2011 |
| David Rundblad | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | October 15, 2011 |
| Craig Anderson | 100th career win | October 20, 2011 |
| Zenon Konopka | 200th NHL game | October 22, 2011 |
| Kaspars Daugavins | 1st NHL goal 1st NHL point 1st NHL GWG | October 30, 2011 |
| Jared Cowen | 1st NHL goal 1st NHL point | November 1, 2011 |
| Stephane Da Costa | 1st NHL assist | November 1, 2011 |
| Kaspars Daugavins | 1st NHL assist | November 12, 2011 |
| Jason Spezza | 200th NHL goal | November 27, 2011 |
| David Rundblad | 1st NHL goal | November 27, 2011 |
| Milan Michalek | 300th NHL point | November 29, 2011 |
| Jared Cowen | 1st NHL assist | December 1, 2011 |
| Zack Smith | 100th NHL game | December 8, 2011 |
| Jared Cowen | 1st NHL GWG | December 13, 2011 |
| Nick Foligno | 300th NHL game | December 13, 2011 |
| Erik Karlsson | 100th NHL point | December 16, 2011 |
| Chris Neil | 100th NHL assist | December 20, 2011 |
| Mike Hoffman | 1st NHL game | December 23, 2011 |
| Filip Kuba | 300th NHL point | December 23, 2011 |
| Daniel Alfredsson | 400th NHL goal | December 30, 2011 |
| Mark Borowiecki | 1st NHL game | January 19, 2012 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 1,100th NHL game | January 19, 2012 |
| Andre Petersson | 1st NHL game | January 21, 2012 |
| Chris Neil | 700th NHL game | January 21, 2012 |
| Daniel Alfredsson | 1,100th NHL game | January 21, 2012 |
| Chris Phillips | 250th NHL point | January 24, 2012 |
| Milan Michalek | 500th NHL game | February 7, 2012 |
| Chris Phillips | 1,000th NHL game | February 9, 2012 |
| Jim O'Brien | 1st NHL goal 1st NHL point | February 15, 2012 |
| Erik Karlsson | 100th NHL assist | February 22, 2012 |
| Jason Spezza | 600th NHL point | February 25, 2012 |
| Robin Lehner | 1st NHL shutout | February 28, 2012 |
| Erik Karlsson | 200th NHL game | March 2, 2012 |
| Jim O'Brien | 1st NHL assist | March 4, 2012 |
| Rob Klinkhammer | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | March 8, 2012 |
| Filip Kuba | 250th NHL assist | March 14, 2012 |
| Jason Spezza | 600th NHL game | March 23, 2012 |
| Erik Condra | 100th NHL game | March 23, 2012 |
| Colin Greening | 100th NHL game | March 24, 2012 |
| Zenon Konopka | 250th NHL game | March 24, 2012 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Achievement | Date |
| Zenon Konpoka | 1st NHL playoff game 1st NHL playoff assist 1st NHL playoff point | April 14, 2012 |
| Mark Stone | 1st NHL point | April 21, 2012 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 24, 2011 | To Detroit Red Wings2nd-round pick (35th overall) in 2011 2nd-round pick (48th overall) in 2011 | To Ottawa Senators1st-round pick (24th overall) in 2011 |
| June 25, 2011 | To Columbus Blue Jackets3rd-round pick (66th overall) in 2011 | To Ottawa SenatorsNikita Filatov |
| December 2, 2011 | To Chicago BlackhawksConditional 7th-round pick in 2013 | To Ottawa SenatorsRob Klinkhammer |
| December 17, 2011 | To Phoenix CoyotesDavid Rundblad 2nd-round pick in 2012 | To Ottawa SenatorsKyle Turris |
| February 26, 2012 | To St. Louis Blues2nd-round pick in 2013 | To Ottawa SenatorsBen Bishop |
| February 27, 2012 | To Tampa Bay LightningBrian Lee | To Ottawa SenatorsMatt Gilroy |

#### Notes
### Player signings

| Player | Date | Contract terms |
| Colin Greening | May 19, 2011 | 3-year, $2.45 million |
| Zack Smith | May 19, 2011 | 2-year, $1.4 million |
| Louie Caporusso | May 30, 2011 | 2-year, $1.13 million entry-level |
| Jakob Silfverberg | May 30, 2011 | 3-year, $2.59 million entry-level |
| Francis Lessard | July 1, 2011 | 1-year, $550,000 two-way |
| Erik Condra | July 6, 2011 | 2-year, $1.25 million |
| Mika Zibanejad | July 13, 2011 | 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level |
| Bobby Butler | July 14, 2011 | 2-year, $2.15 million |
| Kaspars Daugavins | August 3, 2011 | 1-year, $600,000 two-way |
| Mark Stone | September 19, 2011 | 3-year, $1.89 million entry-level contract |
| Stefan Noesen | December 29, 2011 | 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract |
| Matt Puempel | December 29, 2011 | 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract |
| Ben Bishop | February 26, 2012 | 1-year, $650,000 one-way contract extension |
| Chris Wideman | March 28, 2012 | 2-year, $1.18 million entry-level contract |
| Ben Blood | April 6, 2012 | 2-year, $1.65 million entry-level contract |

## Draft picks

The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was held in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Senators picked sixth overall with their own draft pick, and 21st overall with the first-round pick of the Nashville Predators, acquired in exchange for a 2011 trade of Mike Fisher. After picking 21st, the Senators traded their 35th and 48th overall picks (the later pick acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Chris Campoli) to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for the 24th overall pick. This marked the first time in franchise history that the Senators picked three times in the first round.
| Round | Overall pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 6 | Mika Zibanejad | Centre | Sweden | Djurgardens IF (Elitserien) |
| 1 | 21 (from Nashville) | Stefan Noesen | Right wing | United States | Plymouth Whalers (OHL) |
| 1 | 24 (from Detroit) | Matt Puempel | Left wing | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 2 | 61 (from Boston) | Shane Prince | Centre | United States | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 4 | 96 | Jean-Gabriel Pageau | Centre | Canada | Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 126 | Fredrik Claesson | Defence | Sweden | Djurgardens IF (Elitserien) |
| 6 | 156 | Darren Kramer | Centre | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 6 | 171 (from Phoenix) | Max McCormick | Left wing | United States | Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) |
| 7 | 186 | Jordan Fransoo | Defence | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 7 | 204 (from Pittsburgh) | Ryan Dzingel | Centre | United States | Lincoln Stars (USHL) |