2011-12 New Jersey Devils season

The New Jersey Devils 2011–12 season was the 38th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and 30th season since the franchise relocated to New Jersey to start the 1982–83 NHL season. The Devils hoped to return to the playoffs after having their long playoff streak snapped the previous year. While finishing fourth in the strong Atlantic division, they did rank sixth in the Eastern Conference, thus securing a playoff berth, and first round match-up against the Southeast division-winning Florida Panthers.
== Offseason ==
The focus of the Devils during the 2011 offseason was on finding a new coach and player signings. The main focus of the team was resigning Zach Parise and signing 4th-overall 2011 pick Adam Larsson to an entry level contract, although team CEO and general manager Lou Lamoriello did find the time to sign goaltender Johan Hedberg and defenseman Andy Greene as well. Additionally, the team chose to suspend operations of the Trenton Devils, which was a minor league ECHL club that the team had used for player development, citing declining fan interest in the team and a desire to bring the organization more in line with other NHL organizations in terms of minor league affiliations.
The Devils announced the hiring of Peter DeBoer as the new head coach of the team on July 19, 2011.
== Pre-season ==
On June 30, 2011, the New Jersey Devils announced that they would play six games during the pre-season. There were three home games at the Prudential Center against the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and Philadelphia Flyers. They also played two road games, one against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum and one against the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. One neutral site game against the Rangers took place at the Times Union Center, located in Albany, New York.
== Playoffs ==
The Devils clinched their 20th playoff berth in 22 seasons with a 5 - 0 Win over the Carolina Hurricanes on March 31, 2012. They finished the regular season with 102 points, finishing 4th in the Atlantic Division and 6th in the Eastern Conference. They beat the Florida Panthers in 7 games, with a game winning goal in double overtime from rookie Adam Henrique. They went on to beat the Philadelphia Flyers in 5 games, and beat the New York Rangers in 6 games with another overtime goal from Henrique, winning their first Eastern Conference Championship since their 2003 run. The playoff run for the Devils concluded with a loss to the Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, 4 games to 2.
==Standings==
== Schedule and results ==
===Preseason===
Preseason: 3–3–0 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 1–2–0)
{| class="wikitable"	 	 	 	 	
Game	Date 	Opponent 	Score 	Location 	Record
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 ===
2011–12 Regular season game log: 48–28–6 (Home: 24–13–4 ; Road: 24–15–2)	2011–12 Regular season game log: 48–28–6 (Home: 24–13–4 ; Road: 24–15–2)	2011–12 Regular season game log: 48–28–6 (Home: 24–13–4 ; Road: 24–15–2)	2011–12 Regular season game log: 48–28–6 (Home: 24–13–4 ; Road: 24–15–2)	2011–12 Regular season game log: 48–28–6 (Home: 24–13–4 ; Road: 24–15–2)	2011–12 Regular season game log: 48–28–6 (Home: 24–13–4 ; Road: 24–15–2)	2011–12 Regular season game log: 48–28–6 (Home: 24–13–4 ; Road: 24–15–2)	2011–12 Regular season game log: 48–28–6 (Home: 24–13–4 ; Road: 24–15–2)	2011–12 Regular season game log: 48–28–6 (Home: 24–13–4 ; Road: 24–15–2)
October (Games: 9; Home: 4; Road: 5) (Record: 4–4–1; Home: 2–1–1; Road: 2–3–0)
{| class="wikitable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Game 	Date 	Time (ET) 	Opponent 	Score 	Location 	Attendance 	Record 	Points
1 	October 8 	7:00pm 	Philadelphia 	0–3 	Prudential Center 	17,625 	0–1–0 	0
2 	October 10 	1:00pm 	Carolina 	4–2 	Prudential Center 	12,096 	1–1–0 	2
3 	October 13 	7:00pm 	Los Angeles 	2–1 SO 	Prudential Center 	12,256 	2–1–0 	4
4 	October 15 	8:00pm 	@ Nashville 	3–2 SO 	Bridgestone Arena 	17,113 	3–1–0 	6
5 	October 21 	7:00pm 	San Jose 	3–4 SO 	Prudential Center 	14,319 	3–1–1 	7
6 	October 22 	7:00pm 	@ Pittsburgh 	1–4 	Consol Energy Center 	18,535 	3–2–1 	7
7 	October 25 	10:30pm 	@ Los Angeles 	3–0 	Staples Center 	18,118 	4–2–1 	9
8 	October 27 	10:00pm 	@ Phoenix 	3–5 	Jobing.com Arena 	7,434 	4–3–1 	9
9 	October 29 	8:00pm 	@ Dallas 	1–3 	American Airlines Center 	11,740 	4–4–1 	9
===Playoffs===
2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs
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Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Florida Panthers - Devils win series 4-3	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Florida Panthers - Devils win series 4-3	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Florida Panthers - Devils win series 4-3	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Florida Panthers - Devils win series 4-3	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Florida Panthers - Devils win series 4-3	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Florida Panthers - Devils win series 4-3	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Florida Panthers - Devils win series 4-3	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Florida Panthers - Devils win series 4-3	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Florida Panthers - Devils win series 4-3	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (3) Florida Panthers - Devils win series 4-3
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Series 	Recap
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 4-3 	
 Win Loss Win Playoff Series
==Player stats==
===Skaters===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
Regular season	 	 	 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	+/−	PIM
 	77	37	46	83 	−9 	33
 	81	26	52	78 	−8 	16
 	82	31	38	69 	−5 	32
 	74	16	35	51 	8 	7
 	80	30	16	46 	−8 	138
 	82	21	23	44 	4 	40
 	82	17	27	44 	7 	34
† 	33	7 	11	18 	9 	8
 	65	2 	16	18 	−7 	20
 	82	4 	13	17 	−4 	26
 	56	1 	15	16 	3 	16
†‡ 	28	3 	9 	12 	−9 	23
 	72	2 	9 	11 	3 	34
 	82	0 	9 	9 	18 	66
 	41	2 	7 	9 	10 	6
† 	22	2 	6 	8 	0 	10
† 	65	4 	4 	8 	−12	84
 	30	1 	6 	7 	6 	4
‡ 	29	4 	3 	7 	−7 	12
 	39	0 	6 	6 	−11	16
 	43	1 	5 	6 	−15	16
 	32	1 	5 	6 	6 	16
 	15	2 	4 	6 	−3 	4
 	11	0 	2 	2 	0 	0
 	27	0 	1 	1 	−10	32
 	5 	1 	0 	1 	1 	9
 	48	0 	1 	1 	−8 	75
 	1 	1 	0 	1 	1 	0
 	7 	0 	0 	0 	−2 	0
 	18	0 	0 	0 	−5 	7
 	4 	0 	0 	0 	−2 	0
 	51	0 	0 	0 	−12	115
‡ 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
‡ 	4 	0 	0 	0 	−2 	14
‡ 	7 	0 	0 	0 	0 	7
Playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	G	A 	Pts	+/−	PIM
 	23	8	11	19 	−7 	6
 	24	8	7 	15 	-8 	4
 	24	4	10	14 	9 	26
 	24	7	7 	14 	-6 	4
 	24	5	8 	13 	12 	11
 	24	3	9 	12 	8 	32
 	24	3	7 	10 	0 	18
 	24	1	8 	9 	8 	12
 	24	1	8 	9 	-2 	22
 	24	5	3 	8 	−3 	10
 	24	2	5 	7 	3 	27
 	24	3	4 	7 	4 	4
 	23	5	2 	7 	4 	32
 	18	2	3 	5 	3 	6
 	17	0	4 	4 	2 	6
 	24	0	3 	3 	5 	6
 	24	1	1 	2 	7 	10
 	24	0	1 	1 	1 	8
 	6 	0	1 	1 	1 	0
 	5 	1	0 	1 	3 	4
 	3 	0	0 	0 	-1 	0
 	1 	0	0 	0 	0 	0
===Goaltenders===
Regular season	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	Min 	W 	L 	OT	GA 	GAA 	SA 	Sv% 	SO	G	A	PIM
 	59	3392	31	21	4 	136	2.41	1472	.908	3 	0	4	2
 	27	1591	17	7 	2 	59 	2.23	718 	.918	4 	0	0	2
Playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	Min 	W 	L	GA	GAA 	SA 	Sv% 	SO	G	A	PIM
 	24	1471	14	9	52	2.12	629	.917	1 	0	4	0
 	1 	36 	0 	1	1 	1.67	14 	.929	0 	0	0	0
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Devils. Stats reflect time with Devils only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Devils only.
== Awards and records ==
=== Awards ===
Regular Season	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season
Player 	Award 	Awarded 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Adam Henrique 	NHL Rookie of the Month 	December 2011 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Ilya Kovalchuk	NHL Second Star of the Week	February 6, 2012	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Ilya Kovalchuk	NHL Second Star of the Week	March 12, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
=== Records ===
Player	Record (Amount)	Achieved
=== Milestones ===
Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season
Player 	Milestone 	Reached 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Adam Larsson 	1st Career NHL Game 	October 8, 2011 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
David Clarkson 	300th Career NHL Game 	October 10, 2011 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Henrik Tallinder 	100th Career NHL Assist 	October 15, 2011 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Adam Henrique 	1st Career NHL Assist1st Career NHL Point	October 27, 2011 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Andy Greene 	300th Career NHL Game 	October 29, 2011 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Brad Mills 	1st Career NHL Assist 	November 2, 2011 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Adam Larsson 	1st Career NHL Assist1st Career NHL Point	November 2, 2011 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Adam Henrique 	1st Career NHL Goal 	November 3, 2011 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Dainius Zubrus 	500th Career NHL Point 	November 8, 2011 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Adam Larsson 	1st Career NHL Goal 	November 11, 2011	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Anton Volchenkov 	500th Career NHL Game 	November 12, 2011	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Dainius Zubrus 	1,000th Career NHL Game 	November 16, 2011	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Ryan Carter 	200th Career NHL Game 	November 19, 2011	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Patrik Elias 	500th Career NHL Assist 	December 28, 2011	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Dainius Zubrus 	200th Career NHL Goal 	January 2, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Patrik Elias 	1,000th Career NHL Game 	January 6, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Zach Parise 	200th Career NHL Assist 	January 10, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Mark Fayne 	100th Career NHL Game 	January 11, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Petr Sykora 	700th Career NHL Point 	January 14, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Mattias Tedenby 	100th Career NHL Game 	January 14, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Alexei Ponikarovsky	300th Career NHL Point 	February 4, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Cam Janssen 	300th Career NHL Game 	February 14, 2012	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Steve Bernier 	400th Career NHL Game 	March 1, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Petr Sykora 	1,000th Career NHL Game 	March 4, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Bryce Salvador 	100th Career NHL Point 	March 6, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Zach Parise 	400th Career NHL Point 	March 8, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Marek Zidlicky 	300th Career NHL Point 	March 8, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Andy Greene 	100th Career NHL Point 	March 17, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Ilya Kovalchuk 	400th Career NHL Goal 	March 20, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Zach Parise 	500th Career NHL Game 	April 3, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Eric Boulton 	600th Career NHL Game 	April 5, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Stephen Gionta 	1st Career NHL Goal1st Career NHL Point 	April 7, 2012 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
== Transactions ==
The Devils have been involved in the following transactions during the 2011–12 season.
=== Trades ===
Date 	Details 	Details
June 16, 2011 	To Minnesota Wild David McIntyre 	To New Jersey Devils Maxim Noreau
July 14, 2011 	To Calgary Flames Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond 	To New Jersey Devils 5th round pick in 2012
July 28, 2011 	To New York Islanders Brian Rolston 	To New Jersey Devils Trent HunterConditional pick in 2012
October 4, 2011 	To Toronto Maple Leafs David Steckel 	To New Jersey Devils 4th-round pick in 2012
December 12, 2011	To Anaheim Ducks Mark FraserRod Pelley7th-round pick in 2012 	To New Jersey Devils Kurtis FosterTimo Pielmeier
January 20, 2012 	To Carolina Hurricanes Joe Sova4th-round pick in 2012 	To New Jersey Devils Alexei Ponikarovsky
February 24, 2012	To Minnesota Wild Kurtis FosterNick PalmieriStephane Veilleux2nd-round pick in 2012Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2013	To New Jersey Devils Marek Zidlicky
|}
===Free agents signed===
Player 	Former team 	Contract terms
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 Ambrì-Piotta 	1 year, $525,000
Petr Sykora 	HC Dinamo Minsk 	1 year, $650,000
Steve Bernier 	Albany Devils 	1 year, $525,000
===Free agents lost===
Player 	New team 	Contract terms
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
===Claimed via waivers===
Player 	Former team 	Date claimed off waivers
Ryan Carter	Florida Panthers	October 26, 2011
=== Lost via waivers ===
Player	New team	Date claimed off waivers
===Player signings===
Player 	Date 	Contract terms
Brandon Burlon 	June 2, 2011 	3 years, $1.9875 million entry-level contract
Jay Leach 	June 22, 2011 	1 year, $525,000
Andy Greene 	July 1, 2011 	4 years, $12 million
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 ==
The New Jersey Devils participated in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, located at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, on June 24, 2011. Devils CEO, president, and general manager Lou Lamoriello, described as being "thrilled" at the chance to draft him, selected 6–3, 197 pounds Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson 4th overall. This was the Devils' highest pick in the draft since selecting Scott Niedermayer third overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.
Round	Pick 	Player 	Position 	Nationality	Club team
1 	4 	Adam Larsson 	Defenseman	 	Skelleftea AIK, Elitserien
3 	69The New Jersey Devils' third-round pick was forfeited as a result of a penalty sanction due to cap circumvention when signing Ilya Kovalchuk. The penalty includes a fine of US$3 million, a forfeiture of one first-round pick between 2011 and 2014 as determined by the Devils, and this pick. 	Forfeited pick	 	 	
3 	75The Dallas Stars' third-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on January 7, 2011 that sent Jamie Langenbrunner to Dallas in exchange for a conditional pick in 2012 NHL Entry Draft and this pick (conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Dallas Stars does not win a round of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs and does not re-sign Langenbrunner prior to the 2011 Draft – was converted on June 24, 2011.	Blake Coleman 	Center 	 	Indiana Ice
4 	99 	Reid Boucher 	Center 	 	US National Team Development Program
5 	129 	Blake Pietila 	Left Wing 	 	US National Team Development Program
6 	159 	Reece Scarlett	Defenseman	 	Swift Current Broncos
7 	189 	Patrick Daly 	Defenseman	 	Benilde-St. Margaret's High School
;Notes
==Final roster==
Updated June 6, 2012.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
|}
== See also ==
* 2011–12 NHL season
==References==
Category:New Jersey Devils seasons
New Jersey Devils season, 2011–12
Category:Eastern Conference (NHL) championship seasons