2011–12 KHL season
# 2011–12 KHL season

The 2011–12 KHL season was the fourth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The regular season began with the Opening Cup game on 7 September 2011, but because of the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, which occurred during the first period of the Cup game and killed all but one member of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team, further play was delayed until 12 September 2011. The tragedy forced Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to cancel their participation in the KHL season. The Opening Cup was renamed the Lokomotiv 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.

The Gagarin Cup was won by Dynamo Moscow, defeating Avangard Omsk in a seven-game final series. Dynamo Moscow is the first champion from the Western Conference of the KHL.

## League changes

### Team changes

Expansion to Slovakia

With the admission of Lev Poprad from Poprad, Slovakia the league expanded beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union. This brought the number of teams to 24. However, following the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash that claimed the lives of the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl squad (with the exceptions of forward Maxim Zyuzyakin and goaltending coach Jorma Valtonen), Lokomotiv withdrew from the season, leaving only 23 teams as in the previous season.

## Regular season

The regular season was supposed to start on 7 September 2011 with the Opening Cup and end on 26 February 2012 with short breaks in November, December and February for international matches and for the all-star game. 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.

### Notable events

**Yaroslavl plane tragedy**

On 7 September 2011, the day of the season opening, a tragic airplane accident occurred in Yaroslavl in which the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team was killed. After the news broke in Ufa, where the Opening Cup game between Salavat Yulaev Ufa and Atlant Moscow Oblast was already underway, the match was abandoned. 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. 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.

**All-star game**

The All-star weekend took place on 20–21 January 2012 in Riga, Latvia. Team Fedorov defeated Team Ozoliņš with 15–11.

### League standings

Source: KHL.ru

Points are awarded as follows:

* 3 Points for a win in regulation ("W")
* 2 Points for a win in overtime ("OTW") or a penalty shootout ("SOW")
* 1 Point for a loss in overtime ("OTL") or a penalty shootout ("SOL")
* 0 Points for a loss in regulation ("L")

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.

**Western Conference**

| 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 the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | Withdrew due to the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | Withdrew due to the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | Withdrew due to the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | Withdrew due to the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | Withdrew due to the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | Withdrew due to the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | Withdrew due to the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | Withdrew due to the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | Withdrew due to the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash | Withdrew due to the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash |

y – Won division; z – Won conference (and division);

BOB - Bobrov Division, TAR - Tarasov Division

Source: khl.ru

**Eastern Conference**

| 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

### Player statistics

**Scoring leaders**

Updated as of the end of the regular season. Source: khl.ru

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-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 |

**Leading goaltenders**

Updated as of the end of the regular season. Source: khl.ru

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 |

## Playoffs

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 the Gagarin Cup final.

| Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Quarterfinals | | | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | Gagarin Cup Finals | Gagarin Cup Finals | Gagarin Cup Finals |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Traktor | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Yugra | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Yugra | 1 | | | 1 | Traktor | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Ak Bars | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Avangard | 4 | | | 4 | Ak Bars | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Amur | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Amur | 0 | | | | | | 1 | Traktor | 1 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | 1 | Traktor | 1 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | 2 | Avangard | 4 | | | | |
| 3 | Metallurg Mg | 4 | | | | | | | | | 2 | Avangard | 4 | | | | |
| 6 | Barys | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Barys | 3 | | | 2 | Avangard | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Metallurg Mg | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Ak Bars | 4 | | | 3 | Metallurg Mg | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Salavat Yulaev | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Salavat Yulaev | 2 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Avangard | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 |
| 1 | SKA | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 |
| 8 | CSKA | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | CSKA | 1 | | | 1 | SKA | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Atlant | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Torpedo | 4 | | | 4 | Atlant | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Dinamo Rg | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Dinamo Rg | 3 | | | | | | 1 | SKA | 0 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | 1 | SKA | 0 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 | | | | |
| 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 | | | | | | | | | 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 | | | | |
| 6 | Dinamo Mn | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Dinamo Mn | 0 | | | 2 | Torpedo | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Atlant | 4 | | | 3 | Dynamo Msk | 4 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Severstal | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Player statistics

**Playoff scoring leaders**

The following players lead the league in points at the conclusion of the playoffs. Source: khl.ru

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-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 |

**Playoff leading goaltenders**

The following players lead the league in points at the conclusion of the playoffs. Source: khl.ru

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 |

## Final standings

| Rank | Team |
| - | - |
| 1 | Dynamo Moscow |
| 2 | Avangard Omsk |
| 3 | Traktor Chelyabinsk |
| 4 | SKA Saint Petersburg |
| 5 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk |
| 6 | Ak Bars Kazan |
| 7 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod |
| 8 | Atlant Moscow Oblast |
| 9 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa |
| 10 | Barys Astana |
| 11 | Severstal Cherepovets |
| 12 | Amur Khabarovsk |
| 13 | Dinamo Minsk |
| 14 | Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk |
| 15 | Dinamo Riga |
| 16 | CSKA Moscow |
| 17 | Metallurg Novokuznetsk |
| 18 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk |
| 19 | Spartak Moscow |
| 20 | Sibir Novosibirsk |
| 21 | Lev Poprad |
| 22 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg |
| 23 | Vityaz Chekhov |

## Awards

### Players of the Month

Best KHL players of each month.

| Month | Goaltender | Defense | Forward | Rookie |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| September | Jakub Štěpánek (SKA) | Aleksandr Osipov (Amur) | Vadim Schipachev (Severstal) | Andrei Sergeev (CSKA) |
| October | Michael Garnett (Traktor) | Vitaly Shulakov (Amur) | Vladimir Tarasenko (Sibir) | Nikita Tochitsky (Vityaz) |
| November | Michael Garnett (Traktor) | Alex Riazantsev (Traktor) | Vadim Schipachev (Severstal) | Sergei Barbashev (CSKA) |
| December | Ari Ahonen (Metallurg Mg) | Yevgeny Medvedev (Ak Bars) | Alexander Radulov (Salavat Yulaev) | Dmitry Lugin (Amur) |
| January | Teemu Lassila (Metallurg Nk) | Kevin Dallman (Barys) | Evgeny Kuznetsov (Traktor) | Stanislav Bocharov (Yugra) |
| February | Alexander Eremenko (Dynamo Msc) | Guntis Galviņš (Riga) | Robert Nilsson (Torpedo) | Roman Tatalin (Vityaz) |
| March | Michael Garnett (Traktor) | Ilya Gorokhov (Dyn. Moscow) | Vladimir Tarasenko (SKA) | not awarded |
| April | Alexander Eremenko (Dynamo Msc) | Martin Škoula (Omsk) | Mikhail Anisin (Dynamo Msc) | not awarded |

### KHL Awards

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.

| 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 | Alexander Radulov Salavat Yulaev Ufa | Roman Červenka Avangard Omsk | Roman Červenka Avangard Omsk | Mikhail Anisin Dynamo Moscow | Mikhail Anisin Dynamo Moscow |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Defense | Dmitri Kalinin SKA Saint Petersburg | Dmitri Kalinin SKA Saint Petersburg | Dmitri Kalinin SKA Saint Petersburg | Kevin Dallman Barys Astana | Kevin Dallman Barys Astana | Kevin Dallman Barys Astana |
| Goalie | Alexander Eremenko Dynamo Moscow | Alexander Eremenko Dynamo Moscow | Alexander Eremenko Dynamo Moscow | Alexander Eremenko Dynamo Moscow | Alexander Eremenko Dynamo Moscow | Alexander Eremenko Dynamo Moscow |
