2011-12 St. Louis Blues season

The 2011–12 St. Louis Blues season was the 45th season of operation (44th of play) for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967.

The Blues qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2008–09 NHL season, and the second time since the end of the lockout. They also won their first Central division title since the 1999–2000 NHL season.

Off-Season
The Blues extended contracts for all four of their coaches on May 26: Brad Shaw and Ray Bennette (assistant coaches), Corey Hirsch (goaltending consultant), and Scott Masters (video coach).

Forward David Backes is named team captain, filling a vacancy left by Eric Brewer's departure during the previous season.

November
On November 3, St. Louis Cardinals' ace pitcher, 36-yr-old Chris Carpenter laced up the skates for a practice session with other Blues' players, taking shots and making passes. He played ice hockey in high school at 16 and was an all-state defenseman his last three years for Trinity High School in Manchester, New Hampshire, with scouts from the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins pursuing him for a hockey career, which he turned down to pursue baseball. He loved this hockey experience with the Blues, holding season tickets, and will be at Cardinals Night on November 4.

The Blues celebrated Cardinals Night before the game on November 4. Former manager Tony La Russa dropped the ceremonial first puck.

The Blues fired head coach Davis Payne (6–7–0 12 pts., 13th in Western Conference) on November 6, and replaced him with Ken Hitchcock. Hitchcock will be the 24th head coach in Blues' history and agreed to a contract through the 2012–13 season.

The Blues paid tribute before a home game on November 8, to two of their past players, Pavol Demitra (1996–2004) and Igor Korolev (1992–1994), who died in a September 7 plane crash near Yaroslavl, Russia that carried the Lokomotiv_Yaroslavl team. Both players wore uniform number 38 while with the team. The accident killed 45 players, coaches, team personnel, and members of the flight crew. It is the single biggest tragedy in the history of professional hockey.

Chris Stewart was suspended for 3 games on Nov. 16, because of his hit on Detroit Red Wings' Niklas Kronwall in the previous night's game.

Left-winger David Perron was cleared for contact in practice skating on November 19. He has not played since suffering a concussion on Nov. 4, 2010, missing the remaining 72 games last season.

Ken Hitchcock is off to the best start for a new coach for the Blues in their team history after 10 games, with a 7–1–2 (16 pts of 20) record, an 80% success rate, surpassing Joel Quenneville who started with a 70% success rate through his first 10 games.

On November 28, new goaltender Brian Elliott was named "Third Star of the Week" for the week ending November 27, with his 3–0–0 (0.98 GAA, 0.963 save percentage, and one shutout) record with wins over Pittsburgh (Penguins 3–2 OT), Calgary (Flames, 2–0), and Columbus (Blue Jackets, 2–1). He presently leads the league with his 1.31 GAA and .951 save percentage, and tied with his three shutouts.

December
On December 2, injured forward David Perron was activated for the home Dec. 3 game, the first regular season game for him since suffering his concussion against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 4, 2010. He missed 97 games.

January
Ron Caron, former GM (1983–1993, Dec. 1996-Jun. 1997) died at 82 in his Montreal home on Jan. 9, the night before the Blues shutout the Montreal Canadians there, a team Caron was a longtime scout and asst. GM for. Caron led the Blues to a 438-405-127 record during his years, including a 47–22–11 (105 pts.) in 1990–91, the third-best in Blues' history. The Blues qualified for the playoffs in each of Caron's 12 years as GM. Former Blues' Hall of Fame great center Bernie Federko said he didn't know a more passionate hockey man in the world. Ron Caron Guest Book

Goaltender Brian Elliott was named to the 2012 All-Star Game in Ottawa, Canada on Sunday Jan. 29.

February
Andy McDonald got an assist on the first goal of the game on Feb. 12, his first game back after missing 51 games recovering from a concussion.

David Perron was named the "Third Star of the Week" after scoring six goals, an assist, and a +5 in four games in the week ending February 12. He has 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 30 games.

March
The Blues climbed atop the NHL standings with a 3–1 win at home over the Anaheim Ducks on March 8, giving them an NHL-best 93 points (43–18–7). It is the latest date the Blues have been first this late in a season since March 9, 2000. They were 30th (last) in the NHL as recently as the 2005–06 season. They have an NHL-leading 46 points since January 1, and are a perfect 35–0 when scoring at least 3 goals. They were 6–7 when coach Ken Hitchcock took over on November 6.

The Blues announced they had signed 19-yr.-old center Jaden Schwartz, their first overall 2010 draft pick to an entry-level contract on March 12. He was added to the roster. He scored in his first NHL game on Saturday, March 17 in Tampa against the Lightning. It was the game-winner in the 3–1 win, and he was the 13th player in Blues' history to do it. In that same game, the Blues became the first team to attain 100 points, and also clinch a playoff spot.

Alexander Steen was activated on March 25, after missing 39 games due to concussion syndrome since last playing on December 27. Kris Russell also returned to the lineup since experiencing a concussion on February 23.

The Blues set their all-time franchise record with Brian Elliott's eighth shutout of the season (in only 35 appearances) on March 25, giving the Blues 14 for the season. Jaroslav Halak has six shutouts in 43 appearances. The duo breaks the previous record of 13 set by Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante from the 1968–69 season. Elliott also tied Hall with his eighth shutouts in one season, but Hall still owns the team record with 16 shutouts.

The Blues set their all-time franchise record with their 30th home win on March 27. More records were set with goalie Brian Elliott's Most Consecutive Shutout Minutes (186:33), surpassing Manny Legace's 186:15. His ninth shutout against Nashville surpassed Glenn Hall's eight in 1968–69. Elliott and Halak have combined for a Modern Era NHL Record of 15 shutours, extending their previous record of 14 set March 25 (see previous paragraph). The team's 105 points are their second-best in their history, surpassed only by the 1999–2000 season when they earned 114 points and won their first Presidents' Trophy.

They clinched the Central Division title on March 31.

April
Brian Elliott's shutout streak ended on April 4, after 241:33. It was a new franchise record beating Manny Legace's previous record of 186:15 set from Dec. 28, 2007 to Jan. 8, 2008.

Elliott and Jaroslav Halak captured the William Jennings Trophy for the first time in leading the NHL in fewest goals allowed by a team's goaltenders with 165. It was only the second time, with Roman Turek getting the honors in the 1999–2000 season. They also tied the modern NHL record with the 1969–70 Chicago Blackhawks, with 15 shutouts. They are the first tandem goaltenders to record at least six shutouts each in the same season; Elliot had nine. He led the NHL with a 1.56 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. His three consecutive shutouts tied the franchise record of Greg Millen in the 1988–89 season. Halak ranked fifth with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. They will be honored on June 20 at the 2012 NHL Awards.

Playoffs
The Blues ended the 2011–12 regular season as the Western Conference's 2nd seed. They defeated the #7 seed San Jose Sharks 4–1 in the first round, winning their first playoff series since 2002. They next faced the #8 seed Los Angeles Kings in the second round and were swept out of the playoffs.

Game three of the Blues-Sharks (Monday) April 16 playoff was the highest-rated Blues' game ever broadcast on Fox Sports Midwest with an 11.0 household rating. Game three of the 2001 playoff game against the Dallas Stars was the previous high with a 9.9 household rating, followed by a 9.8 rating for game four of that series, and fourth-highest a 9.7 rating for the game one opener with the Sharks on (Thursday) April 12, 2012.

Playoffs
Key: Win  Loss

Skaters
(Regular season through games of April 21, 2012)  FINAL

Stats

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

* indicates not currently on the active roster. + indicates on Injured Reserve. ‡Traded away mid-season, date of last game in. Stats reflect time with Blues only. †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blues, date of first game in. Stats reflect time with Blues only. Bold = leading team in category.

Goaltenders
(Updated through April 7, 2012)  FINAL

Stats

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (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 BOLD = individual leading NHL    * = Modern NHL Record

Final roster
Updated April 20, 2012.


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Transactions
The Blues have been involved in the following transactions during the 2011–12 season

Draft picks
St. Louis's picks at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul, at the Xcel Energy Center from June 24 – June 25, 2011.

The Blues had no first-round pick in the draft, because of the trade with the Colorado Avalanche during the 2010–2011 season.

Peoria Rivermen
The Peoria Rivermen are the Blues American Hockey League affiliate in 2011–12.

Alaska Aces
The Alaska Aces are the Blues affiliate in the ECHL.