2011–12 Buffalo Sabres season
| 2011–12 Buffalo Sabres | |
|---|---|
| Division | 3rd Northeast |
| Conference | 9th Eastern |
| 2011–12 record | 39–32–11 |
| Home record | 21–12–8 |
| Road record | 18–20–3 |
| Goals for | 218 |
| Goals against | 230 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Darcy Regier |
| Coach | Lindy Ruff |
| Captain | Jason Pominville |
| Alternate captains |
Derek Roy Drew Stafford Thomas Vanek Paul Gaustad (Oct–Feb) |
| Arena | First Niagara Center |
| Average attendance | 18,272 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Jason Pominville (30) |
| Assists | Jason Pominville (43) |
| Points | Jason Pominville (73) |
| Penalties in minutes | Patrick Kaleta (116) |
| Plus/minus | Tyler Ennis (+11) |
| Wins | Ryan Miller (30) |
| Goals against average | Drew MacIntyre (1.38) |
The 2011–12 Buffalo Sabres season was the 42nd season of operation (41st season of play) for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. Their season began October 7, 2011, against the Anaheim Ducks in Helsinki, Finland. In Helsinki, the team named Jason Pominville the 13th full-time captain in team history. Pominville filled the vacancy left by Craig Rivet, who was claimed via waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets during the previous season.
The Sabres signed several free agents. This was due to the new ownership giving permission to the managing staff to bid for free agents. The previous ownership allowed free agents to leave rather than pay for free agent contracts. The Sabres home also underwent a makeover. The interior of the arena was painted Sabres colors, blue and gold. The players locker rooms also received an extensive multimillion-dollar upgrade. The naming rights were transferred from HSBC to First Niagara Bank, and the arena took on the name First Niagara Center.
The Sabres participated in the 2011 NHL Premiere, playing their first two regular season games in Europe. After a 2–0 start in Europe, the Sabres returned home and continued to play well. They had a record of 10–5 going into a November 12 game against the Boston Bruins. In the first period of the game, Ryan Miller left his crease to play a puck and was hit by the Bruins' Milan Lucic. Miller suffered a concussion and neck injury on the hit and would go on to miss nine games. Lucic was penalized for charging on the play but was not suspended or fined by the League. During the middle part of the season, injuries plagued the team. By the All-Star break the Sabres sat in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and had 225 man-games lost to injury.Jason Pominville was the only Sabre named to the All-Star Game roster.Luke Adam was one of 12 rookies selected to participate in the All-Star Skills Competition.
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