The 2011–12 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's forty-fifth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Penguins, which was led by head coach Dan Bylsma and started the season without captain center Sidney Crosby, still managed a 51–25–6 record, an East-best 29 home wins, and 108-point average, which was second-best in the Eastern Conference.
Background
In February, the team began the league's longest season winning streak and also saw the return of Crosby after missing more than forty games with concussion-like symptoms, before it saw its streak end in March at eleven games.
Center Evgeni Malkin was able to play in seventy-five games despite difficulties associated with recent knee surgery and recorded his greatest goal tally in a season (fifty) on the way to winning his second Art Ross Trophy. Marc-Andre Fleury tied a franchise record for goalie wins (226) in a victory against the Atlantic division winning-New York Rangers.
The fourth-seed Penguins saw its playoff run end when it lost to the same team that halted its regular-season winning streak, the Philadelphia Flyers, losing the first three games before its final loss in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.
On April 27, Malkin was named as one of three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy, marking his third-career nomination for the award. On June 20 Malkin finished first in votes for the Hart Trophy, earning his first career MVP award.
Pre-season
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 || September 21 || Detroit Red Wings || 2–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–0–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 || September 22 || Chicago Blackhawks || 1–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–0–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 || September 24 || Minnesota Wild || 1–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–0–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 || September 27 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3 – 2 (SO) || Los Angeles Kings || 4–0–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 || September 30 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–2 || Chicago Blackhawks || 5–0–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 6 || October 2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–3 || Detroit Red Wings || 5–1–0 |-
Regular season
Game log
Excluding 9 shootout-winning goals, the Penguins scored 273 goals overall, the most in the League.
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 || 6 || 10:00 pm || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–3 SO || Vancouver Canucks || Rogers Arena (18,860) || 1–0–0 || 2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 || 8 || 10:00 pm || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–3 || Calgary Flames || Scotiabank Saddledome (19,289) || 2–0–0 || 4 |- style="background:#ffc;" | 3 || 9 || 9:00 pm || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–2 SO || Edmonton Oilers || Rexall Place (16,839) || 2–0–1 || 5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 || 11 || 7:30 pm || Florida Panthers || 2–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || Consol Energy Center (18,503) || 3–0–1 || 7 |- style="background:#ffc;" | 5 || 13 || 7:00 pm || Washington Capitals || 3–2 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || Consol Energy Center (18,512) || 3–0–2 || 8 |- style="background:#fcf;" | 6 || 15 || 7:00 pm || Buffalo Sabres || 3–2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || Consol Energy Center (18,562) || 3–1–2 || 8 |- style="background:#fcf;" | 7 || 17 || 8:30 pm || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–2 || Winnipeg Jets || MTS Centre (15,004) || 3–2–2 || 8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 || 18 || 7:30 pm || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–2 || Minnesota Wild || Xcel Energy Center (17,297) || 4–2–2 || 10 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 9 || 20 || 7:00 pm || Montreal Canadiens || 1–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || Consol Energy Center (18,403) || 5–2–2 || 12 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 10 || 22 || 7:00 pm || New Jersey Devils || 1–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || Consol Energy Center (18,535) || 6–2–2 || 14 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 11 || 25 || 7:00 pm || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–0 || New York Islanders || Nassau Coliseum (10,681) || 7–2–2 || 16 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 12 || 27 || 7:00 pm || New York Islanders || 2–3 SO || Pittsburgh Penguins || Consol Energy Center (18,461) || 8–2–2 || 18 |- style="background:#fcf;" | 13 || 29 || 7:00 pm || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–4 || Toronto Maple Leafs || Air Canada Centre (19,526) || 8–3–2 || 18 |-