The
2011–12 Los Angeles Kings
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
was the
45th season (44th season of play) 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 ...
(NHL) franchise. Although they finished the season with 95 points and the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, they went on to capture the first
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
championship in team history.
Regular season
On December 12, 2011, the Kings fired head coach
Terry Murray
Terry Rodney Murray (born July 20, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings.
Playing career
Murray was born in Shaw ...
and named
John Stevens interim head coach. On December 20, 2011, the Kings hired
Darryl Sutter
Darryl John Sutter (born August 19, 1958) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is one of seven Sutter brothers, six of whom made the ...
to be their head coach, replacing Stevens.
With only one month to play in the regular season, the Kings were tenth in the Western Conference, two seeds away from a playoff spot. Their defense and goal tending were the only highlights throughout most of the season, highlighted by Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty. The offense was loaded with talent, but unable to find any kind of significant consistency until the final month and a half, when they proceeded to go 12–4–3 in their final 19 games as their offense finally caught fire and started scoring the goals they lacked earlier in the year. They secured the eighth and final playoff seed in their 81st (and second-to-last game), a shoot-out loss to their arch rivals, the San Jose Sharks.
Out of the Kings' 82 regular season games, 21 ended in a shutout; the Kings were shut-out ten times, the most of any NHL team in the regular season.
Playoffs
The Kings made the playoffs for the third consecutive season, needing a win in the final game to secure the eighth seed. The Kings also became the second team to eliminate the first, second and third seeds from the playoffs in the same post-season (after the
2003–04 Calgary Flames), as well as the only team to win the Stanley Cup after defeating the first, second and third seeds in sequence. (Darryl Sutter was the head coach of both the 2003–04 Flames and 2011–12 Kings.) They then defeated the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
in the Stanley Cup Finals, becoming the first eighth seed in North American professional sports history to win a championship. They are also one of the few teams to win a championship after never benefiting from home-venue advantage in the post-season after the
1994-95 New Jersey Devils. The Kings became the third team in NHL history to win a championship with a losing record, having just 40 wins in the regular season. Los Angeles would start every series by winning the first three games, only sweeping the St. Louis Blues.
Standings
Schedule and results
Pre-season
Regular season
Playoffs
Player statistics
Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Goaltenders
Awards and records
Awards
Records
Milestones
Transactions
The Kings have been involved in the following
transactions during the 2011–12 season.
Trades
Free agents acquired
Free agents lost
Acquired via waivers
Lost via waivers
Player signings
Draft picks
LA '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 ...
in
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 ...
.
Farm teams
Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to:
*Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015)
*Manchester Monarchs (ECHL)
The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 ECHL season, 2015–16 season. Bas ...
(AHL)
The
2011–12 season will be the 11th season of
AHL hockey for the franchise. The Monarchs clinched a playoff berth as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference in the
2012 Calder Cup Playoffs
The 2012 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 19, 2012, with a slightly different playoff format than in other recent years. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, will play a best-of-five serie ...
and faced the
Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises:
*Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015
*Norfolk Admirals (ECHL)
The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hockey ...
, where they were defeated 3 games to 1.
Ontario Reign
The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena.
The fra ...
(ECHL)
The
2011–12 season will be the fourth season of
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
hockey for the franchise since moving to
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
from
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. It saw the Reign capture their second Pacific Division Regular Season championship and their second playoff berth. However, the Reign lost to the
Idaho Steelheads
The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season.
In 1996, t ...
in the first round of the
2012 Kelly Cup playoffs
The 2012 Kelly Cup Playoffs of the ECHL started on April 2, 2012 following the end of the 2011–12 ECHL regular season. The playoff format remains unchanged from that of the 2011 postseason. 15 teams qualified for the playoffs, being the top s ...
. The Reign have never advanced past the first round in their franchise history.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Los Angeles Kings Season
Los Angeles Kings seasons
Los Angeles Kings season, 2011-12
Western Conference (NHL) championship seasons
Stanley Cup championship seasons
L
LA Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
LA Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...