2011–12 San Jose Sharks season

Offseason

The Sharks, disappointed in their playoff results, traded away two major players of their team to the Minnesota Wild. Devin Setoguchi was traded for Brent Burns, and Dany Heatley was traded for Martin Havlat. Burns was targeted to fill a hole on the Sharks as a shut-down defensive presence. Heatley was traded after posting disappointing playoff results.

Season recap

Regular season

The preseason was successful, ending in a 5–1–0 record with the only loss came to Phoenix.

The Sharks started the season rather slowly; they gained a win at their opener at home against Phoenix but then lost three straight. Afterwards, the Sharks won the first five games on their six-game road trip. The win against the Devils came on a shootout, with Joe Thornton participating in his 1000th NHL career game, and the win against the Islanders by a sudden-death goal from Brent Burns, so the Sharks won both games that went into overtime. They ended this road trip with a loss against the Rangers before heading back home for a six-game stand. The first one was a win after shootout against the Penguins before losing the first game after overtime to the Predators before the next two games were won. The home stand ended with five wins and only one loss, coming against the Coyotes. The Sharks took over the first position in the Pacific Division in November and had 13 wins in the books after 20 games. After that, the Sharks lost four out of five with the only win vs. the Canadiens by a shootout. The Sharks just won one of the next five games, before they went on a four-game winning streak to take the top spot in the Pacific Division over Christmas. December was finished with two losses to the Ducks and Canucks.

The new year started with two wins on the road, another one at home and the number 1 spot in the division. After an away overtime loss vs. the Wild the Sharks captured their second shutout victory in a 2–0 win over the Jets. January was ended with two shutouts by Antti Niemi and at top of their division. February included an unsuccessful nine-game road trip.

The Sharks clinched a playoff spot on the fifth of April, their 81st game of the regular season.

The Sharks were the most disciplined team during the regular season, with only 225 power-play opportunities against.

Playoffs

In the playoffs, the Sharks faced the St. Louis Blues, a number 2 seed, in the first round, the conference quarterfinals in a best-of-seven series. The Sharks won Game 1 by a score of 3–2 after double overtime by a goal from Martin Havlat who scored twice, with Andrew Desjardins sent this game into overtime with his goal five minutes before the end of regulation. Game 2 was won by the Blues, who scored once every period, 3–0. The Blues continued their dominance by posting a 4–3 victory in Game 3, with two of the three goals by the Sharks coming in the waning minutes of the third period. The Blues then won a second straight game in San Jose, in Game 4, by a score of 2–1. The Blues led the series 3–1. With coming back over to St. Louis, the Sharks went into the third period with a lead, courtesy of a goal from Joe Thornton. The Blues, however, answered with two quick goals in the middle of the last period and scored another goal late in the game to capture the series in five games.

Standings

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Regular season

• Green background indicates win (2 points).
• Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points).
• White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).

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Playoffs

Main article: 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Sharks clinched a playoff spot and made their eighth consecutive appearance in the playoffs.

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Player statistics

Skaters

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

Updated April 21, 2012.

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Goaltenders

GP = Games played; MIN = Time On Ice in minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; SV = Saves; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; G = Goals; A = Assists; PEN = Penalty Time in minutes

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†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Sharks. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.

‡Traded mid-season

Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards, records, milestones

Awards

Records

Milestones

Transactions

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

Trades

Free agents signed

Free agents lost

Claimed via waivers

Lost via waivers

Lost via retirement

Player signings

Draft picks

San Jose's picks at the 2011 NHL entry draft in St. Paul, Minnesota.

References

References

1. "2011-12 NHL Summary".
2. "Sharks Stats". sj-sharks.com.
3. [http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=602483 Habs' Price's two shutouts earn First Star honors]
4. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567147 Brent Burns Acquired From Wild]
5. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567341 2011 NHL Entry Draft Recap]
6. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568408 Martin Havlat Acquired For Dany Heatley]
7. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=585842 James Sheppard Is A Shark Now]
8. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=613847 Sharks Acquire Tim Kennedy from Florida in Exchancge for Sean Sullivan]
9. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=617343 Sharks Acquire Moore and a Seventh Round Selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft from the Lightning in Exchange for a Second Round Selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft]
10. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=619341 Sharks Acquire Galiardi, Winnik and Draft Pick from Colorado in Exchange for McGinn, Connolly and Sgarbossa]
11. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=634312 Sharks Acquire Defenseman Brad Stuart from Detroit in Exchange for Forward Andrew Murray and a Conditional Draft Selection in 2014]
12. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568238 Big Center Handzus A Free Agent Signee]
13. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568108 Defenseman Vandermeer Joins Sharks]
14. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568758 D-Man Matt Pelech Joins Sharks Organization]
15. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568951 Veteran Ben Guite Signs With Sharks]
16. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569663 Sharks Sign Center Andrew Murray]
17. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=585691 Colin White Signs With San Jose]
18. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=591000 Sharks Sign Left Wing Brad Winchester]
19. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=622231 Sharks Sign Wing Sebastian Stalberg to a Two-Year Contract]
20. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=624884 Sharks Sign Bay Area Native Matt Tennyson to Entry-Level Contract]
21. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=625057 Sharks Sign Center Travis Oleksuk to Entry-Level Contract]
22. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=565973 Nicklas Wallin Heads Home]
23. (2011-06-15). "Genuin norrbottning på väg hem igen". [[Luleå HF]].
24. [http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567996 Oilers agree to terms with Ben Eager]
25. [http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568016 Blackhawks agree to terms with Brunette, Mayers, McLean and O’Donnell]
26. [http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568345 Wings add D-depth, sign White]
27. [http://blues.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568332 Blues Sign Defenseman Huskins] NHL.com (July 2, 2011)
28. [http://blues.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568435 Blues Sign Scott Nichol] NHL.com (July 5, 2011)
29. [http://jets.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=587697 Jets agree to terms with Kyle Wellwood] NHL.com (September 9, 2011)
30. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=563977 Sharks Sign Forward Freddie Hamilton]
31. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=566943 Setoguchi Signs Contract Extension]
32. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567495 Andrew Desjardins & Alex Stalock Get 1 Year]
33. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567853 Jamie McGinn & Frazer McLaren Get Deals]
34. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568756 Thomas Greiss Has Re-Signed With SJ]
35. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568762 Defenseman Sullivan Re-Signs With Sharks]
36. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568950 Benn Ferriero Re-signs With Sharks]
37. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=585520 Brent Burns Signs For Five]
38. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=587399 Sharks Sign Center Logan Couture to a Two-Year Extension]
39. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=627759 Sharks Sign Defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser]
40. [http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=628809 Sharks Sign Defenseman Dylan Demelo]