The 2011–12 Washington Capitals season was the franchise's 38th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). Washington finished the year as the seventh place team in the Eastern Conference. In the opening round of the playoffs, they matched up with the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. Due to injuries, the Capitals were forced to play rookie goaltender Braden Holtby. Washington's defeat of the Bruins marked the first time in NHL history in which all seven games of a series were decided by one goal. Facing the East's top seed in the Conference Semi-finals, Washington was defeated in seven games by the New York Rangers. Holtby was lauded for his playoff performance, where he recorded a .935 save percentage and was credited with putting Washington in a position to win each game.
Washington won their first seven games, setting a franchise record for consecutive victories to start a season. Shortly after, however, an early season slump prompted the benching of offensive star players Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin in separate games. The moves failed to produce results, and Head Coach Bruce Boudreau was eventually replaced by Dale Hunter. Boudreau's firing came seven days after he won his 200th game as an NHL head coach, achieving the feat faster anyone in NHL history. Under Hunter, the Capitals battled the Florida Panthers for the Southeast Division title, ultimately losing out on their fifth-straight division title on the final day of the season. Two days after Washington's playoff elimination, Hunter stepped down as head coach; Adam Oates was hired as his replacement.
Individually, Alexander Ovechkin and Dennis Wideman were named to the All-Star Game. Due to a suspension for a reckless hit, however, Ovechkin elected not to attend the game to avoid being a distraction. Four Capitals were named one of the NHL's weekly three stars – a total of five times throughout the season. Three players made their NHL debut, while Mike Knuble played in his 1,000th game.
Off-season
During the off-season, the Capitals made several player changes. One of the players that was not retained by the team, Matt Bradley, started a controversy with his comments from a radio interview in Ottawa. In the interview, Bradley said his former team was "a little bit too nonchalant and guys weren't disciplined the way they should have been," which he claimed were the two biggest reasons why the team was not able to advance past the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He later stated that Head Coach Bruce Boudreau did not give the most ice time to players who were playing well, but went with his star players. He further noted that Boudreau was a "great coach" who had been put in a tough position. When asked to point out examples, Bradley stated that Alexander Semin "could easily be the best player in the league," but he "just doesn't care," further noting, "When you've got a guy like that, you need him to be your best player, or one of your best players, and when he doesn't show up, you almost get the sense that he wants to be back in Russia." Semin's agent came to his client's defense, stating he "always cares." Teammate Mike Knuble noted that because Semin speaks limited English, the language barrier affects the way that he is perceived, further noting that the interview comments were something Bradley regretted. When asked about the comments, former Capitals forward Dave Steckel stated that, "It's not like he went out and told lies." Bradley later apologized for his comments in an interview with the Sun Sentinel.
Including Bradley, the Capitals lost six players who played for them in the playoffs, as well as back-up goaltender Semyon Varlamov. To replace some of the departed players, Washington traded its 2011 first-round draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for veteran winger Troy Brouwer, who was a member of the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup championship team in 2010. They then signed Joel Ward as a free agent, adding grit and the hopes that he could duplicate his 2011 playoff success. Ward scored seven goals and 13 points in 12 playoff games with the Nashville Predators, after scoring 10 goals and 29 points in 80 regular season games. In net, they added veteran Tomas Vokoun, who was considered to be one of the top goaltenders in the 2011 free agent class. He signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract, well below his believed market value, to have a chance at winning the Stanley Cup. After making these and other off-season moves, the Capitals were over the NHL salary cap. The expectation was that defenseman Tom Poti would not be able to play due to injury and Washington would be forced to place him on long-term injured reserve, where his $2.9 million salary would not count against the cap total. Unexpectedly, Poti told the Capitals that he would be ready to play by training camp. Poti, however, failed his medical exam prior to training camp and was placed on long-term injured reserve.
Regular season
October – November
In the season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes, Boudreau made a "surprise" decision to start goaltender Michal Neuvirth. Boudreau stated that the reason behind his decision was a reward for Neuvirth's hard work in training camp. Prior to the Capitals' second game, Neuvirth sustained a bruised foot and was unable to play. In his Capitals debut, Vokoun struggled, allowing five goals on 28 shots, but nevertheless Washington won the game 6–5 in a shootout. In the post-game interview, Vokoun blamed himself for the high number of goals and thanked his teammates for getting him the win in a game he should have lost. Vokoun rebounded in his second game, making 39 saves in a 3–2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. He continued his strong play and was named the NHL's third star of the week ending October 23 and helped the Capitals to a franchise-record seven game winning streak to start a season.
After losing two straight games, Washington was down 4–3 to the Anaheim Ducks in the final minutes of the game. With the goaltender pulled, Boudreau decided to play the third line of Joel Ward, Brooks Laich and Jason Chimera with Nicklas Backstrom as the extra attacker. Boudreau stated that he was "playing a hunch" by leaving star forward Alexander Ovechkin on the bench. The move paid off, however, as Backstrom scored to force overtime. He also scored the game winner in overtime assisted by Ovechkin. When asked about being left on the bench in a post-game interview, Ovechkin stated that Laich's line deserved to be on the ice – though the video showed Ovechkin visibly upset about being left on the bench. The following day, Ovechkin stated that he was upset about not being on the ice in the final minutes, but that he understood Boudreau's decision. The Hockey News Ken Campbell applauded the benching of Ovechkin stating that in the past Boudreau had shown a willingness to continually put his star players out on the ice despite how they were playing and accepted the consequences. Campbell noted the move was Boudreau "addressing his most glaring problem as a coach".
Following the benching incident, the Capitals went 2–5–0 leading up to their November 21 game against the Phoenix Coyotes. For the game, Boudreau again made headlines for not playing one of his star players, this time making Alexander Semin a healthy scratch (a non-dressing player). Semin led the team in penalties-in-minutes (PIMs), as well as being tied for second in the NHL with 14 minor penalties. Boudreau previously benched Semin for the second half of a game against the New Jersey Devils after the winger had taken two minor penalties and was deemed not focused. Washington defeated Phoenix in the game 4–3. NBC's Mike Halford echoed Campbell's statement when discussing the benching of Semin, commenting that it was a "bold move" and the latest in a series of messages sent by Boudreau. Halford further questioned if the new stance would eventually cost Boudreau his job.
The benchings did not produce the desired results, however, as the Capitals lost six of eight games, with Ovechkin scoring only one goal during the same stretch. As a result, Washington fired Boudreau on November 28 and replaced him with former Capitals captain Dale Hunter. Hunter was the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) London Knights when he was hired. During his time with London, he set an OHL record for fastest coach to 300 and 400 career wins. The Capitals lost Hunter's coaching debut 2–1 to the St. Louis Blues. The following day, Boudreau spoke to the media about being fired, stating that general manager George McPhee made the "right decision at the time" and that despite speculation, he did not feel that Ovechkin was a problem, stating that he "worked as hard and tried as hard as he could."
December – January The Capitals did not give Hunter his first NHL win until his third game, a 3–2 win over the Ottawa Senators that broke a four-game losing streak. Brooks Laich scored the game-winning goal just 12 seconds into the overtime period.Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals Box Score — December 3, 2011 | Hockey-Reference.com The goal would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 2011–12 NHL regular season.2011-12 NHL Schedule and Results | Hockey-Reference.com In the rematch four days later, Ovechkin appeared to spear Senators forward Chris Neil. Following a Neil hit on Ovechkin, the pair skated up the ice, whereupon Neil fell to the ice following the alleged spear. Neil was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for diving. A spearing penalty, if called, would have resulted in a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct. Later in the game, Ovechkin scored the eventual game-winning goal, his first goal in six games. When asked about the incident after the game, Neil described it as a "pitchfork in the gut," while Ovechkin stated he was "not the type of guy who spears players." The following day, a league spokesman stated that Ovechkin would not be suspended or fined for the incident.
The December 28 game against the New York Rangers marked the return of fourth line forward Jay Beagle, who previously missed 31 games with a concussion suffered in a fight against the Pittsburgh Penguins' Arron Asham. The fight itself had generated a minor controversy, as Asham, an experienced fighter, made celebratory gestures after knocking out Beagle, who was in his first career NHL fight. Several Capitals expressed their displeasure with Asham after the game, while Asham himself later called his actions "classless." Beagle's work ethic in his return was called contagious by teammate Matt Hendricks, and he helped the Capitals to a 4–1 victory.