2011–12 Detroit Red Wings season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	2011–12
Year:	2011
Team:	Detroit Red Wings
Conference:	Western
Conferencerank:	5th
Division:	Central
Divisionrank:	3rd
Record:	48–28–6
Homerecord:	31–7–3
Roadrecord:	17–21–3
Goalsfor:	248
Goalsagainst:	203
Coach:	Mike Babcock
Captain:	Nicklas Lidstrom
Altcaptain:	Pavel Datsyuk Niklas Kronwall Henrik Zetterberg
Arena:	Joe Louis Arena
Attendance:	20,066 (100%) Total: 822,706
Goalsleader:	Johan Franzen (28)
Assistsleader:	Pavel Datsyuk (48)
Pointsleader:	Henrik Zetterberg (68)
Plusminusleader:	Todd Bertuzzi (+24)
Pimleader:	Kyle Quincey (89)
Winsleader:	Jimmy Howard (35)
Gaaleader:	Jimmy Howard (2.13)

The 2011–12 Detroit Red Wings season was the 86th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. The Red Wings finished the season with a 48–28–6 record and for the first time since 1990–91 season, the Red Wings did not finish first or second in their division, finishing third. Also, the Red Wings had their earliest playoff exit since 2006 against the Edmonton Oilers, losing to the Nashville Predators in five games.

Off-season

On July 19, 2011, goaltender Chris Osgood announced his retirement from the NHL after 17 seasons.^[1] Osgood won three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings and will remain with the Red Wings organization, working with Detroit's goaltending prospects.

Regular season

On February 12, against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Red Wings tied an NHL record of 20 consecutive home wins. The only two other teams to accomplish this feat was the 1930 Boston Bruins and the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers.^{[2] [3]} On February 14, against the Dallas Stars, the Red Wings broke the NHL record of 20 consecutive home wins, becoming the first team to record 21 straight home wins.^{[4] [5] [6]} The streak was extended to 23 on February 19 with a win over the San Jose Sharks.^[7] The streak started on November 5, 2011, against the Anaheim Ducks. However, the streak ended at 23 games with a 4–3 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on February 23, 2012.^{[8] [9]}

The Red Wings tied the Tampa Bay Lightning for the fewest shorthanded goals scored during the regular season with two.^[10]

Standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

2011–12 game log
October: 5–4–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 2–3–0) Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 7 W 5–3 20,066 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 8 W 3–0 18,007 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 13 W 2–0 Howard 20,066 3–0–0 6 Recap 4 October 15 W 3–2 OT Howard 17,104 4–0–0 8 Recap 5 October 21 W 5–2 Howard 20,066 5–0–0 10 Recap 6 October 22 L 1–7 Conklin 18,506 5–1–0 10 Recap 7 October 25 L 1–4 Conklin 15,100 5–2–0 10 Recap 8 October 28 L 2–4 Howard 20,066 5–3–0 10 Recap 9 October 29 L 0–1 Howard 17,233 5–4–0 10 Recap
November: 10–3–1 (home: 7–1–1; road: 3–2–0) Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 10 November 1 L 1–2 OT Howard 20,066 5–4–1 11 Recap 11 November 3 L 1–4 Howard 20,066 5–5–1 11 Recap 12 November 5 W 5–0 Howard 20,066 6–5–1 13 Recap 13 November 8 W 5–2 Howard 20,066 7–5–1 15 Recap 14 November 11 W 3–0 Howard 20,066 8–5–1 17 Recap 15 November 12 W 5–2 Howard 20,066 9–5–1 19 Recap 16 November 15 L 1–2 Howard 19,150 9–6–1 19 Recap 17 November 17 L 2–5 Howard 17,562 9–7–1 19 Recap 18 November 19 W 4–1 Howard 18,118 10–7–1 21 Recap 19 November 20 W 4–2 Howard 17,229 11–7–1 23 Recap 20 November 23 W 5–3 Howard 20,066 12–7–1 25 Recap 21 November 25 W 3–2 SO Howard 17,565 13–7–1 27 Recap 22 November 26 W 4–1 Howard 20,066 14–7–1 29 Recap 23 November 30 W 4–2 Howard 20,066 15–7–1 31 Recap
December: 9–6–0 (home: 5–0–0; road: 4–6–0) Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 24 December 2 W 4–1 Howard 18,690 16–7–1 33 Recap 25 December 4 L 2–4 Conklin 17,014 16–8–1 33 Recap 26 December 6 L 2–3 Howard 19,150 16–9–1 33 Recap 27 December 8 W 5–2 Howard 20,066 17–9–1 35 Recap 28 December 10 W 7–1 Howard 20,066 18–9–1 37 Recap 29 December 13 W 4–1 Howard 18,592 19–9–1 39 Recap 30 December 15 L 3–4 Howard 17,113 19–10–1 39 Recap 31 December 17 W 8–2 Howard 20,066 20–10–1 41 Recap 32 December 19 W 3–2 Howard 16,839 21–10–1 43 Recap 33 December 21 L 2–4 Howard 18,890 21–11–1 43 Recap 34 December 22 L 2–3 Conklin 19,289 21–12–1 43 Recap 35 December 26 W 4–1 Howard 17,113 22–12–1 45 Recap 36 December 27 W 3–2 Howard 20,066 23–12–1 47 Recap 37 December 30 L 2–3 Howard 22,166 23–13–1 47 Recap 38 December 31 W 3–0 Howard 20,066 24–13–1 49 Recap
January: 10–3–0 (home: 5–0–0; road: 5–3–0) Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 3 W 5–4 Howard 15,182 25–13–1 51 Recap 40 January 7 L 3–4 Howard 19,536 25–14–1 51 Recap 41 January 8 W 3–2 OT Conklin 21,858 26–14–1 53 Recap 42 January 10 L 1–5 Conklin 12,864 26–15–1 53 Recap 43 January 12 W 3–2 SO Howard 20,066 27–15–1 55 Recap 44 January 14 W 3–2 OT Howard 20,066 28–15–1 57 Recap 45 January 16 W 5–0 Howard 20,066 29–15–1 59 Recap 46 January 17 W 3–2 SO Conklin 15,148 30–15–1 61 Recap 47 January 19 W 3–2 SO Howard 15,067 31–15–1 63 Recap 48 January 21 W 3–2 SO Howard 20,066 32–15–1 65 Recap 49 January 23 W 3–1 Howard 20,066 33–15–1 67 Recap 50 January 25 L 2–7 Howard 21,273 33–16–1 67 Recap 51 January 31 W 3–1 Howard 19,289 34–16–1 69 Recap
February: 8–3–2 (home: 6–1–1; road: 2–2–1) Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 52 February 2 W 4–3 SO Howard 18,890 35–16–1 71 Recap 53 February 4 L 4–5 SO 16,839 35–16–2 72 Recap 54 February 6 L 1–3 MacDonald 12,687 35–17–2 72 Recap 55 February 8 W 4–2 MacDonald 20,066 36–17–2 74 Recap 56 February 10 W 2–1 SO MacDonald 20,066 37–17–2 76 Recap 57 February 12 W 4–3 MacDonald 20,066 38–17–2 78 Recap 58 February 14 W 3–1 MacDonald 20,066 39–17–2 80 Recap 59 February 17 W 2–1 MacDonald 20,066 40–17–2 82 Recap 60 February 19 W 3–2 MacDonald 20,066 41–17–2 84 Recap 61 February 21 L 1–2 Howard 22,027 41–18–2 84 Recap 62 February 23 L 3–4 SO Howard 20,066 41–18–3 85 Recap 63 February 25 L 3–4 Howard 20,066 41–19–3 85 Recap 64 February 28 W 5–2 MacDonald 14,333 42–19–3 87 Recap
March: 4–8–2 (home: 4–3–0; road: 0–5–2) Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 65 March 2 W 6–0 Howard 20,066 43–19–3 89 Recap 66 March 4 L 1–2 MacDonald 20,066 43–20–3 89 Recap 67 March 6 L 2–3 MacDonald 19,892 43–21–3 89 Recap 68 March 9 W 4–3 MacDonald 20,066 44–21–3 91 Recap 69 March 10 L 2–3 MacDonald 17,113 44–22–3 91 Recap 70 March 13 L 2–5 Howard 18,118 44–23–3 91 Recap 71 March 14 L 0–4 MacDonald 16,331 44–24–3 91 Recap 72 March 17 L 2–3 OT Howard 17,562 44–24–4 92 Recap 73 March 19 L 3–5 Howard 20,066 44–25–4 92 Recap 74 March 21 L 1–2 OT Conklin 18,200 44–25–5 93 Recap 75 March 24 W 5–4 Conklin 20,066 45–25–5 95 Recap 76 March 26 W 7–2 Conklin 20,066 46–25–5 97 Recap 77 March 28 L 2–4 Conklin 12,432 46–26–5 97 Recap 78 March 30 L 1–4 Howard 20,066 46–27–5 97 Recap
April: 2–1–1 (home: 1–1–1; road: 1–0–0) Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 79 April 1 W 2–1 SO Howard 20,066 47–27–5 99 Recap 80 April 4 W 3–2 SO Howard 18,755 48–27–5 101 Recap 81 April 5 L 1–2 Howard 20,066 48–28–5 101 Recap 82 April 7 L 2–3 SO Howard 20,066 48–28–6 102 Recap
Legend:

Playoffs

2012 Stanley Cup playoffs
Western Conference Quarter-final vs. (4) Nashville Predators: Nashville won series 4–1 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Series Recap 1 April 11 L 2–3 Howard 17,113 0–1 Recap 2 April 13 W 3–2 Howard 17,113 1–1 Recap 3 April 15 L 2–3 Howard 20,066 1–2 Recap 4 April 17 L 1–3 Howard 20,066 1–3 Recap 5 April 20 L 1–2 Howard 17,113 1–4 Recap
Legend:

Player statistics

Skaters

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

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Red Wings. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards and records

Awards

Regular season
Player	Award	Awarded
Jimmy Howard^[11]	NHL Second Star of the Week	November 14, 2011
Niklas Kronwall^[12]	NHL Second Star of the Week	March 5, 2012

Milestones

The Detroit Red Wings officially broke the NHL record for consecutive home games won, on February 14, 2012. They defeated the Dallas Stars by a score of 3–1, breaking the 1929–30 Boston Bruins and the 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers previous record of 20 games. The streak ended at 23 wins after a shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on February 23, 2012.^[13]

Regular season
Player	Milestone	Reached
	1st career NHL assist	October 7, 2011
	100th career NHL assist	October 15, 2011
Johan Franzen	400th career NHL game	October 21, 2011
	800th career NHL game	October 21, 2011
	100th career NHL game	October 22, 2011
	1,500th career NHL game	October 22, 2011
	1st career NHL game	November 1, 2011
	600th career NHL game	November 11, 2011
	400th career NHL game	November 12, 2011
	1st career NHL game	November 17, 2011
Brendan Smith	1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point	November 19, 2011
	200th career NHL game	November 23, 2011
	1st career NHL game	December 27, 2011
	200th career NHL game	December 30, 2011
	700th career NHL game	December 31, 2011
Gustav Nyquist	1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point	January 3, 2012
	200th career NHL point	January 3, 2012
Niklas Kronwall	200th career NHL point	January 7, 2012
Valtteri Filppula	400th career NHL game	January 7, 2012
	200th career NHL assist	January 12, 2012
	100th career NHL win	January 12, 2012
Pavel Datsyuk	700th career NHL point	January 16, 2012
	1st career NHL assist	January 17, 2012
	300th career NHL goal	February 4, 2012
Danny Cleary	800th career NHL game	February 6, 2012
	1,000th career NHL game	February 10, 2012
Henrik Zetterberg	600th career NHL point	February 17, 2012
	200th career NHL point	February 21, 2012
	100th career NHL game	March 2, 2012
Brendan Smith	1st career NHL goal	March 2, 2012
Brad Stuart	300th career NHL point	March 4, 2012
	100th career NHL game	March 10, 2012
	200th career NHL game	March 19, 2012
Jiri Hudler	400th career NHL game	March 19, 2012
Gustav Nyquist	1st career NHL goal	March 26, 2012
	1st career NHL game	April 7, 2012

Playoffs
Player	Milestone	Reached
	50th career NHL playoff goal 100th career NHL playoff point	April 11, 2012

Transactions

The Red Wings have been involved in the following transactions during the 2011–12 season.

Trades

Date
June 24, 2011 ^[14]	To Ottawa Senators 1st-round pick in 2011	To Detroit Red Wings 2nd-round pick in 2011 2nd-round pick in 2011
February 19, 2012^[15]	To Tampa Bay Lightning Sebastien Piche 1st-round pick in 2012	To Detroit Red Wings Kyle Quincey
February 27, 2012^[16]	To Tampa Bay Lightning Mike Commodore	To Detroit Red Wings Conditional 7th-round pick in 2013

Free agents signed

Player	Former team	Contract terms
Mike Commodore^[17]		1 year, $1 million
Ian White^[18]		2 years, $5.75 million
Garnet Exelby^[19]		1 year, $600,000
Chris Conner^[20]		1 year, $550,000
Ty Conklin^[21]		1 year, $750,000
Fabian Brunnstrom^[22]		1 year, $600,000

Free agents lost

Player	New team	Contract terms
Derek Meech^[23]		1 year, $700,000
Jamie Tardif^[24]		2 years, $1.2 million
Mike Modano^[25]		1 day, $999,999

Claimed via waivers

Player	Former team	Date claimed off waivers

Lost via waivers

Player	New team	Date claimed off waivers

Lost via retirement

Player
Brian Rafalski^[26]
Chris Osgood
Kris Draper^[27]

Lost via death

See main article: 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash.

Player	Cause
Ruslan Salei^[28]	plane crash

Player signings

Player	Date	Contract terms
Adam Almqvist^[29]	May 27, 2011	3 years, $1.775 million entry-level contract
Andrej Nestrasil^[30]	May 31, 2011	3 years, $1.755 million entry-level contract
Nicklas Lidstrom^[31]	June 20, 2011	1 year, $6.2 million
Jonathan Ericsson^[32]	July 1, 2011	3 years, $9.75 million
Patrick Eaves^[33]	July 1, 2011	3 years, $3.6 million
	July 1, 2011	2 years, $1.65 million
	July 5, 2011	1 year, $525,000
Joey MacDonald^[34]	July 11, 2011	2 years, $1.1 million
Jordan Pearce^[35]	July 21, 2011	2 years, $1.05 million
Francis Pare^[36]	July 27, 2011	2 years, $1.115 million
Petr Mrazek^[37]	October 19, 2011	3 years, $1.815 million entry-level contract
Niklas Kronwall^[38]	October 31, 2011	7 years, $33.25 million contract extension
Todd Bertuzzi^[39]	February 23, 2012	2 years, $4.15 million contract extension
Xavier Ouellet^[40]	March 25, 2012	3 years, $2.1025 million entry-level contract
	March 25, 2012	3 years, $2.2275 million entry-level contract
Riley Sheahan^[41]	April 5, 2012	3 years, $2.355 million entry-level contract
Teemu Pulkkinen^[42]	May 29, 2012	3 years, $2.095 million entry-level contract
Calle Jarnkrok^[43]	May 30, 2012	3 years, $2.145 million entry-level contract

Draft picks

See main article: 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Round	Overall pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
2	35 (from Ottawa)	Tomas Jurco	RW		Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
2	48 (from Chicago via Ottawa)	Xavier Ouellet	D		Montreal Junior Hockey Club (QMJHL)
2	55	Ryan Sproul	D		Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
3	85	Alan Quine	C		Peterborough Petes (OHL)
4	115	Marek Tvrdon	RW		Vancouver Giants (WHL)
5	145	Philippe Hudon	C / RW		Choate Rosemary Hall (USHS-CT)
5	146 (from Philadelphia)	Mattias Backman	D		Linkopings HC (Elitserien)
6	175	Richard Nedomlel	D		Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
7	205	Alexey Marchenko	D		CSKA Moscow (KHL)

See also

• 2011–12 NHL season

Notes and References

1. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569641 Osgood retires
2. News: Associated Press . 2012-02-13 . Home Streak by Red Wings Ties Record . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-04-17 . 0362-4331.
3. Web site: Gerstner . Joanne C. . 2012-02-13 . Red Wings Tie N.H.L. Record for Consecutive Home Wins . 2023-04-17 . Slap Shot . en.
4. Web site: Smilovitz . Bernie . 2012-02-15 . What does 21 straight wins at home mean for the Red Wings? . 2023-04-17 . WDIV . en.
5. Web site: O'Brien . James . 2012-02-15 . Red Wings stand alone with 21 consecutive home wins . 2023-04-17 . ProHockeyTalk NBC Sports . en-US.
6. Web site: Khan . Ansar . 2012-02-15 . Red Wings set NHL record with 21st consecutive home victory, beating Stars, 3-1 . 2023-04-17 . mlive . en.
7. Web site: Lage . Larry . 2012-02-20 . Red Wings set NHL multiple-season record with 23rd straight win at home . 2023-04-17 . Thestar.com . en.
8. News: Klein . Jeff Z. . 2012-02-24 . In a First-Rate Thriller, a Record Streak Ends . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-04-17 . 0362-4331.
9. Web site: Savage . Brendan . 2012-02-24 . Detroit Red Wings' NHL-record home winning streak ends at 23 in 4-3 shootout loss to Vancouver . 2023-04-17 . mlive . en.
10. Web site: 2011-12 NHL Summary.
11. https://web.archive.org/web/20111115153756/http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=601281 Seguin, Howard, Toews are NHL's Three Stars
12. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=620578 Three Stars: Miller, Kronwall, Emery earn honors
13. Web site: Canucks end Wings' NHL-record home win streak. Sports Illustrated. February 24, 2012. February 24, 2012.
14. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567163 Trading places
15. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=618210 Wings acquire old friend, Quincey
16. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=619286 Commodore traded; Smith recalled
17. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568128 Wings sign Commodore to one-year
18. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568345 Wings add D-depth, sign White
19. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568543 Red Wings sign Pyett, Exelby
20. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568752 Wings add forward depth with Conner
21. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569685 Wings sign Conklin to one-year
22. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=590929 Wings sign Brunnstrom for one-year
23. http://jets.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568426 Jets agree to terms with Winnipeg native Derek Meech
24. http://bruins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568618 B's Sign Tardif and Hennessy
25. http://stars.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=589379 Stars To Sign Mike Modano To One-Day Deal
26. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=563763 Rafalski: It's time to move on
27. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=585277 After 20 NHL seasons, Draper retires
28. News: Dave . Waddell . 7 September 2011 . Former Red Wings McCrimmon and Salei killed in Russian plane crash . .
29. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=563980 Wings signed Almqvist, a '09 draft pick
30. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=564234 Nestrasil signs three-year deal
31. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=566355 Lidstrom to return for 20th season
32. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567966 Big E signs Big Deal
33. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568022 Wings agree on deals to Eaves, Miller
34. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569018 Wings re-sign MacDonald
35. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569842 Wings re-sign Pearce
36. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567939 Wings sign prospects Pearce, Pare
37. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=596588 Red Wings sign Petr Mrazek to three-year entry-level contract
38. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=598273 Kronwall: New deal 'never any doubt'
39. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=618476 Bertuzzi agrees to contract extension
40. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=623985 Sproul, Ouellet to entry-level contracts
41. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=626044 Wings sign Sheahan to entry-level deal
42. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=633133 Wings sign Pulkkinen to entry-level deal
43. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=633225 Wings sign fifth from 2010 draft class