| 2011–12 KHL season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | Kontinental Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | 12 September 2011 – 25 April 2012 |
| Teams | 23 |
| Regular season | |
| Continental Cup winner |  Traktor Chelyabinsk |
| Season MVP | Alexander Radulov |
| Top scorer | Alexander Radulov |
| Playoffs | |
| Western champions | Dynamo Moscow |
| Western runners-up |  SKA Saint Petersburg |
| Eastern champions | Avangard Omsk |
| Eastern runners-up | Traktor Chelyabinsk |
| Gagarin Cup | |
| Champions | Dynamo Moscow |
| Runners-up | Avangard Omsk |
| FinalsMVP | Alexander Eremenko Dynamo Moscow |
| KHL seasons | |
The2011–12 KHL season was the fourthseason of theKontinental Hockey League. The regular season began with theOpening Cup game on 7 September 2011, but because of the2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, which occurred during the first period of the Cup game and killed all but one member of theLokomotiv Yaroslavl team, further play was delayed until 12 September 2011.[1] The tragedy forced Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to canceltheir participation in the KHL season.[2][3] The Opening Cup was renamed theLokomotiv Cup in honor of those lost in the tragedy.The regular season ended on 26 February 2012 and the following playoffs ended on 25 April.[4]
TheGagarin Cup was won byDynamo Moscow, defeatingAvangard Omsk in a seven-game final series. Dynamo Moscow is the first champion from the Western Conference of the KHL.
Expansion to Slovakia
With the admission ofLev Poprad fromPoprad,Slovakia the league expanded beyond the borders of the formerSoviet Union.[5] This brought the number of teams to 24. However, following the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash that claimed the lives of the entireLokomotiv Yaroslavl squad (with the exceptions of forwardMaxim Zyuzyakin and goaltending coachJorma Valtonen), Lokomotiv withdrew from the season, leaving only 23 teams as in the previous season.
The regular season was supposed to start on 7 September 2011 with theOpening Cup and end on 26 February 2012 with short breaks in November, December and February for international matches and for the all-star game.[6] However, after the Yaroslavl plane tragedy, the schedule had to be modified: the start of the season was postponed to 12 September and the number of games for each team was reduced to 54 as in the previous season, when also only 23 teams participated.[4]
On 7 September 2011, the day of the season opening, a tragic airplane accident occurred inYaroslavl in which the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team was killed. After the news broke inUfa, where theOpening Cup game betweenSalavat Yulaev Ufa andAtlant Moscow Oblast was already underway, the match was abandoned.[1] Later, the KHL announced that the start of the season would be postponed to 12 September, and that pre-game ceremonies would be held to honour the Lokomotiv team, while arena entertainment would be cancelled.[7] On 10 September, at Lokomotiv's public memorial service team president Yuri Yakovlev announced that they would not participate in the 2011–12 KHL season.[8]
TheAll-star weekend took place on 20–21 January 2012 inRiga,Latvia.[6] TeamFedorov defeated TeamOzoliņš with 15–11.
Source: KHL.ru[9]
Points are awarded as follows:
The conference standings determined the seedings for the play-offs. The first two places in each conference are reserved for the division winners.
Note:Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
| R | Div | GP | W | OTW | SOW | SOL | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | z –SKA Saint Petersburg | BOB | 54 | 32 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 205 | 130 | 113 |
| 2 | y –Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | TAR | 54 | 24 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 157 | 132 | 91 |
| 3 | Dynamo Moscow | BOB | 54 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 144 | 116 | 105 |
| 4 | Atlant Moscow Oblast | TAR | 54 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 130 | 134 | 86 |
| 5 | Severstal Cherepovets | TAR | 54 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 142 | 133 | 85 |
| 6 | Dinamo Minsk | TAR | 54 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 158 | 148 | 83 |
| 7 | Dinamo Riga | BOB | 54 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 129 | 136 | 79 |
| 8 | CSKA Moscow | BOB | 54 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 25 | 119 | 129 | 70 |
| 9 | Spartak Moscow | BOB | 54 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 124 | 163 | 64 |
| 10 | Lev Poprad | BOB | 54 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 125 | 162 | 54 |
| 11 | Vityaz Chekhov | TAR | 54 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 108 | 193 | 44 |
| Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | Withdrew due to the2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | |||||||||||
y – Won division;z – Won conference (and division);
BOB - Bobrov Division,TAR - Tarasov Division
Source: khl.ru[10]
| R | Div | GP | W | OTW | SOW | SOL | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | c –Traktor Chelyabinsk | KHA | 54 | 32 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 163 | 116 | 114 |
| 2 | y –Avangard Omsk | CHE | 54 | 26 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 133 | 115 | 93 |
| 3 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | KHA | 54 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 150 | 137 | 94 |
| 4 | Ak Bars Kazan | KHA | 54 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 167 | 136 | 92 |
| 5 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | CHE | 54 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 173 | 152 | 89 |
| 6 | Barys Astana | CHE | 54 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 160 | 160 | 85 |
| 7 | Amur Khabarovsk | CHE | 54 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 166 | 139 | 84 |
| 8 | Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk | KHA | 54 | 19 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 139 | 134 | 83 |
| 9 | Metallurg Novokuznetsk | CHE | 54 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 108 | 130 | 75 |
| 10 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | KHA | 54 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 142 | 165 | 74 |
| 11 | Sibir Novosibirsk | CHE | 54 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 27 | 132 | 154 | 57 |
| 12 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | KHA | 54 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 30 | 105 | 165 | 49 |
y – Won division;c – Won Continental Cup (best record in KHL);
CHE - Chernyshev Division,KHA - Kharlamov Division
Source: khl.ru[10]
Updated as of the end of the regular season. Source: khl.ru[11]
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = PPlus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Radulov | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 50 | 25 | 38 | 63 | +1 | 64 |
| Tony Mårtensson | SKA Saint Petersburg | 54 | 22 | 37 | 59 | +35 | 10 |
| Vadim Schipachev | Severstal Cherepovets | 54 | 22 | 37 | 59 | +16 | 26 |
| Brandon Bochenski | Barys Astana | 49 | 27 | 31 | 58 | +4 | 26 |
| Kevin Dallman | Barys Astana | 53 | 18 | 36 | 54 | +15 | 33 |
| Jakub Petružálek | Amur Khabarovsk | 54 | 22 | 29 | 51 | +14 | 16 |
| Aleksey Morozov | Ak Bars Kazan | 53 | 21 | 29 | 50 | +10 | 24 |
| Sergei Shirokov | CSKA Moscow | 53 | 18 | 30 | 48 | +7 | 26 |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | SKA Saint Petersburg | 54 | 23 | 24 | 47 | +18 | 15 |
| Petr Vrána | Amur Khabarovsk | 46 | 20 | 25 | 45 | +18 | 12 |
Updated as of the end of the regular season. Source: khl.ru[12]
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SOL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% =Save percentage; GAA =Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Min | W | L | SOP | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitali Koval | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | 30 | 1612:04 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 47 | 4 | .930 | 1.75 |
| Alexander Eremenko | Dynamo Moscow | 35 | 1975:20 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 63 | 6 | .920 | 1.91 |
| Karri Rämö | Avangard Omsk | 45 | 2666:48 | 19 | 17 | 9 | 87 | 5 | .925 | 1.96 |
| Michael Garnett | Traktor Chelyabinsk | 45 | 2674:37 | 29 | 10 | 6 | 88 | 3 | .922 | 1.97 |
| Rastislav Staňa | CSKA Moscow | 46 | 2646:42 | 20 | 19 | 4 | 91 | 2 | .926 | 2.06 |
The playoffs started on 29 February 2012 with the top eight teams from both conferences and ended on 25 April with the seventh game of theGagarin Cup final.
| Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Gagarin Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Traktor | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Yugra | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Traktor | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Ak Bars | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Avangard | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Amur | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Traktor | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Avangard | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Metallurg Mg | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 |  Barys | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Avangard | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Metallurg Mg | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Ak Bars | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Salavat Yulaev | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Avangard | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | SKA | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | CSKA | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | SKA | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Atlant | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Torpedo | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 |  Dinamo Rg | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | SKA | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 |  Dinamo Mn | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Torpedo | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Atlant | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Severstal | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
The following players lead the league in points at the conclusion of the playoffs. Source: khl.ru[13]
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = PPlus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Červenka | Avangard Omsk | 20 | 11 | 10 | 21 | +6 | 4 |
| Konstantin Gorovikov | Dynamo Moscow | 21 | 6 | 14 | 20 | +7 | 16 |
| Mikhail Anisin | Dynamo Moscow | 21 | 14 | 5 | 19 | +7 | 2 |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | SKA Saint Petersburg | 15 | 10 | 6 | 16 | +10 | 6 |
| Marek Kvapil | Dynamo Moscow | 21 | 8 | 4 | 12 | +8 | 4 |
| Alexander Perezhogin | Avangard Omsk | 21 | 8 | 4 | 12 | +6 | 8 |
The following players lead the league in points at the conclusion of the playoffs. Source: khl.ru[14]
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SOL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% =Save percentage; GAA =Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Min | W | L | SOP | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vasiliy Koshechkin | Severstal Cherepovets | 6 | 364:40 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | .958 | 1.32 |
| Edgars Masaļskis | Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk | 3 | 88:23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .958 | 1.36 |
| Karri Rämö | Avangard Omsk | 21 | 1209:08 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 31 | 3 | .940 | 1.54 |
| Alexander Eremenko | Dynamo Moscow | 21 | 1304:23 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 34 | 3 | .943 | 1.56 |
| Michael Garnett | Traktor Chelyabinsk | 16 | 988:48 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 29 | 1 | .935 | 1.76 |
| Jakub Štěpánek | SKA Saint Petersburg | 13 | 750:33 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 22 | 3 | .924 | 1.76 |
Best KHL players of each month.
| Month | Goaltender | Defense | Forward | Rookie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September[15] |  Jakub Štěpánek(SKA) | Aleksandr Osipov(Amur) | Vadim Schipachev(Severstal) | Andrei Sergeev(CSKA) |
| October[16] |  Michael Garnett(Traktor) | Vitaly Shulakov(Amur) | Vladimir Tarasenko(Sibir) | Nikita Tochitsky(Vityaz) |
| November[17] | Michael Garnett(Traktor) | Alex Riazantsev(Traktor) | Vadim Schipachev(Severstal) | Sergei Barbashev(CSKA) |
| December[18] |  Ari Ahonen(Metallurg Mg) | Yevgeny Medvedev(Ak Bars) | Alexander Radulov(Salavat Yulaev) | Dmitry Lugin(Amur) |
| January[19] | Teemu Lassila(Metallurg Nk) | Kevin Dallman(Barys) | Evgeny Kuznetsov(Traktor) | Stanislav Bocharov(Yugra) |
| February[20] | Alexander Eremenko(Dynamo Msc) | Guntis Galviņš(Riga) |  Robert Nilsson(Torpedo) | Roman Tatalin(Vityaz) |
| March[21] | Michael Garnett(Traktor) | Ilya Gorokhov(Dyn. Moscow) | Vladimir Tarasenko(SKA) | not awarded |
| April[22] | Alexander Eremenko(Dynamo Msc) | Martin Škoula(Omsk) | Mikhail Anisin(Dynamo Msc) | not awarded |
On 23 May 2012, the KHL held their annual award ceremony. A total of 20 different awards were handed out to teams, players, officials and media. The most important trophies are listed in the table below.[23]
| Golden Stick Award (regular season MVP) | Alexander Radulov(Ufa) |
| Best coach | Oļegs Znaroks(Dynamo Msc) |
| Alexei Cherepanov Award (best rookie) | Dmitry Lugin(Khabarovsk) |
The league also awarded six "Golden Helmets" for the members of the all-star team:
| Forwards | Alexander Radulov Salavat Yulaev Ufa | Roman Červenka Avangard Omsk | Mikhail Anisin Dynamo Moscow | |||
| Defense | Dmitri Kalinin SKA Saint Petersburg | Kevin Dallman Barys Astana | ||||
| Goalie | Alexander Eremenko Dynamo Moscow | |||||
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