The 2011–12 Boston Bruins season was the 88th season for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

franchise that was established on November 1, 1924. The Bruins entered the 2011–12 season as the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Off-season

Veteran forward

Mark Recchi Mark Louis Recchi (; born February 1, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, and he played f ...

retired. Forward Michael Ryder went to the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

via free agency, and defenseman

Tomas Kaberle Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomàs, a Catalan given name and surname * ...

went to the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

. Forward Benoit Pouliot was signed.

Regular season

The Bruins' opened the regular season with a home loss to the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

, whom they had swept in round two of the

2011 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2010–11 season. It began on April 13, 2011, after the conclusion of the regular season. The first game of the Finals between the Vancouver C ...

just five months earlier. They recorded their first regular season success against the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

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 The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

, en route to the worst start by a defending champion since the current playoff platform was adopted in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. 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. During this run, defending

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy ( ) is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two List of NHL general managers, NHL general managers vote to dete ...

winner Tim Thomas posted a 9–0–0 record and earned First Star honors for the month. 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.

Playoffs

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 The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

in a seven-game series 4–3.

Standings

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Regular season

Playoffs

* Scorer of game-winning goal in ''italics''

Player statistics

Skaters

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts =

Points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

; +/- =

Plus–minus Plus–minus, ±, +/−, or variants may refer to: * Plus–minus sign (±), a mathematical symbol which can mean either plus (+) or minus (−), or can indicate the uncertainty of a measurement or statistic * Plus–minus (sports), a sport ...

; PIM =

Penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penalties ...

'' *^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Bruins. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only. *^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only. *(G)Denotes goaltender. *Team PIM totals include bench infractions.

Goaltenders

''Note: GPI = Games played in; MIN = Minutes played; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; SO =

Shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SV% =

Save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

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.

Trades

Free agents signed

Free agents lost

Claimed via waivers

Lost via waivers

Lost via retirement

Player signings

Draft picks

Boston's picks at the

2011 NHL entry draft The 2011 NHL entry draft was the 49th entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the ...

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

. ;Notes on draft picks: *Boston acquired this pick as part of a trade on September 18, 2009, that sent

Phil Kessel Philip Joseph Kessel Jr. (born October 2, 1987) is an American professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), winger who is an unrestricted free agent. Nicknamed "Phil the Thrill", he has previously played for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Lea ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. *Boston acquired this pick as part of a trade on October 18, 2009, that sent

Chuck Kobasew Nicholas James Kobasew (born April 17, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Amateur Kobasew is from the town of Osoyoos, British Columbia, 3 ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in exchange for Craig Weller and Alexander Fallstrom. *Boston acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 3, 2010, that sent Derek Morris to Phoenix. * The Bruins' first-round pick, 30th overall, was traded to

as a result of the trade that sent

to Boston. * The Bruins' second-round pick, 61st overall, went to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

as the result of the trade that sent Chris Kelly to Boston. * The Bruins' third-round pick, 91st overall, went to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

as the result of the trade that sent Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell to Boston. * The Bruins' seventh-round pick, 211th overall, went to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

as the result of the trade that sent a seventh-round pick in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

to Boston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Boston Bruins Season Boston Bruins seasons

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

Bruins Bruin, (from Dutch for "brown"), is an English folk term for brown bear. Bruin, Bruins or BRUIN may also refer to: Places * Lake Bruin, ox-bow lake of the Mississippi River located in northeastern Louisiana ** Lake Bruin State Park * Bruin, K ...

Off-season

Regular season

Playoffs

Standings

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Free agents signed

Free agents lost

Claimed via waivers

Lost via waivers

Lost via retirement

Player signings

Draft picks

See also

References