2012–13 NHL season

2012–13 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	January 19 – June 24, 2013
Number of games	48
Number of teams	30
Total attendance	12,758,849
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy	Chicago Blackhawks
Season MVP	Alexander Ovechkin (Washington)
Top scorer	Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Boston Bruins
Eastern runners-up	Pittsburgh Penguins
Western champions	Chicago Blackhawks
Western runners-up	Los Angeles Kings
Playoffs Playoffs MVP	Patrick Kane (Chicago)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Chicago Blackhawks
Runners-up	Boston Bruins

The 2012–13 NHL season was the 96th season of operation (95th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began on January 19, 2013 and ended on April 28, 2013, with the playoffs to follow until June.

The season start was delayed from its original October 11, 2012 date due to a lockout imposed by the NHL franchise owners after the expiration of the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA). After a new labor agreement was reached between the owners and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), training camps opened on January 13, 2013 and a 48-game season (reduced from 82 games) started on January 19. Similar to the 1994–95 season, the shortened regular season was limited to intra-conference competition.^[1] The season calendar opened with the 2012 NHL Entry Draft on June 22–23, 2012, held at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.^[2]

League business

Lockout

On September 13, 2012, all 29 league ownership groups (with the Phoenix Coyotes collectively owned by the NHL) authorized commissioner Gary Bettman to lock out the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) upon the expiration of the NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on September 15. The action marked the fifth labor dispute in twenty years for the league, following a 1992 strike, lockouts in 1994–95 and 2004–05, as well as a referees lockout in 1993;^[3] this is more than any of the other major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada during this period. In preparation for the lockout, NHL teams assigned all of their eligible players to their American Hockey League farm clubs.^[4]

Although Bettman acknowledged the 2005–12 CBA was fair, he also stated that he was demanding concessions as a result of the late 2000s recession, even though the league experienced significant growth at that time.^[5] Sports media reported on July 14 on the NHL's first offer to the players. The offer reportedly included: a drop in players' share of "hockey-related revenues" from 57 per cent to 46 per cent; a requirement that players play ten years before becoming an unrestricted free agent (UFA); a limit on players' contracts to five years in length; elimination of salary arbitration; and an extension of entry-level contracts to five years from three.^[6]

The NHLPA made an attempt to strike down the lockout as illegal in Alberta and Quebec;^[7] the Quebec Labour Board ruled against the NHLPA on September 14.^[8]

The NHL season officially entered a lockout after the expiration of the CBA on September 15, 2012, prior to the planned start of the pre-season. Locked-out players immediately began signing with the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Czech Extraliga (ELH), the SM-liiga, and the Elitserien (SEL), the last of which largely resisted signing locked-out players.^[9][10] The NHL canceled all regular-season games originally scheduled up to January 14, 2013, including the 2013 NHL Winter Classic. The 2013 NHL All-Star Game was also canceled.^{[11][12][13][14]}

On January 6, 2013, after a 16-hour negotiating session, the owners and players union reached a tentative agreement for a 10-year deal. NHL owners ratified the CBA on January 9, 2013,^[15] followed three days later by the deal's ratification by NHLPA members,^[16] and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two parties, marking their official agreement on the labor pact.^[16][17] The NHL announced a 48-game schedule, starting on January 19, 2013 and ending on April 28, 2013, consisting solely of intra-conference competition.^[1]

Proposed realignment

The relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers from the American southeast to the Canadian prairies, where the franchise is now known as the Winnipeg Jets, in the summer of 2011 resulted in discussions within the league on how to realign the league's 30 teams. Following several months of speculation, the NHL's Board of Governors voted in favor of a radical realignment plan that would have reduced the six current divisions in two conferences into four conferences. The top four teams in each conference would then qualify for the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, while for the regular season, each team would face its non-conference opponents twice: once each at home and on the road. Conference opponents would face each other five or six times each. The plan was designed to better balance each grouping of teams by time zone, as well as to cut the costs of travel western teams face.^[18]

However, on January 6, 2012, the league announced that the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) had rejected the proposed realignment, delaying any future changes until at least 2013–14.^[19] NHLPA officers expressed a desire to see a draft schedule for the realignment, which the league had not completed.^[20]

The league and NHLPA then redesigned the plan, with the four conferences instead being reformed into four divisions within two conferences. Detroit and Columbus, the only two Western Conference teams in the Eastern Time Zone, were added to the Eastern Conference: Detroit moved into the current Atlantic Division and Columbus moved into the Metropolitan. The four groupings were designated as divisions, with the Eastern and Western Conference designations remaining in place. On March 8, 2013, the NHLPA approved the league's realignment plan, with the league Board of Governors ratifying the realignment on March 14.^[21]

The four divisions have been organized as follows:^[21]

Pacific Division	Central Division	Atlantic Division	Metropolitan Division
Anaheim Ducks	Chicago Blackhawks	Boston Bruins	Carolina Hurricanes
Calgary Flames	Colorado Avalanche	Buffalo Sabres	Columbus Blue Jackets
Edmonton Oilers	Dallas Stars	Detroit Red Wings	New Jersey Devils
Los Angeles Kings	Minnesota Wild	Florida Panthers	New York Islanders
Phoenix Coyotes	Nashville Predators	Montreal Canadiens	New York Rangers
San Jose Sharks	St. Louis Blues	Ottawa Senators	Philadelphia Flyers
Vancouver Canucks	Winnipeg Jets	Tampa Bay Lightning	Pittsburgh Penguins
		Toronto Maple Leafs	Washington Capitals

Salary cap

The NHL announced the revised salary cap on June 28, 2012. The salary cap figure is in effect until the end of the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Player's Association. The salary cap for players' salaries rose $5.9 million (USD) to $70.2 million per franchise. The salary floor, the minimum which franchises must spend rose to $54.2 million.^[22]

As part of the newly agreed upon CBA, the salary cap for teams will be $64.3 million per franchise, with a floor of $44 million.^[23]

Change of venue

On October 24, 2012, the New York Islanders announced that the team had signed a 25-year lease with the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, starting in 2015 after the team's current lease for the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum expires. The arena, originally constructed as the home for the National Basketball Association's Brooklyn Nets, is intended to be expanded to meet NHL standards.^[24]

Rule changes

With the ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement, several rule changes took effect this season.^[25]

• Officials no longer had to be certain that contact had been made with the hands (as opposed to the stick) in deciding whether or not to assess a slashing minor.
• Making contact with the opponent's facemask will result in a minor penalty.
• Both players facing-off are prohibited from batting the puck with their hand in an attempt to win the face-off. Any attempt by either center to win the face-off by batting the puck with their hand shall result in a minor penalty. This penalty shall be announced as a "Minor Penalty for Delay of Game - Face-off Violation."
• Rule 67 has been changed to prevent players from getting a faceoff by putting their glove on the puck anywhere on the ice and not allowing play to continue. A minor penalty will be assessed for "closing his hand on the puck."

Uniforms

• To celebrate 20 years in Dallas, the Stars wore special patches this season.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning wore special patches to commemorate their 20th season in the NHL. Their alternate uniform was also modified to include the simplified logo they introduced in the 2011-12 season.
• The San Jose Sharks wore patches in memory of original owner George Gund III, who died January 15, 2013. Gund was instrumental in bringing, removing and returning NHL hockey to the Bay Area.
• To celebrate 100 years of hockey on the west coast, the Canucks honored Vancouver's first professional hockey team, the Vancouver Millionaires, who played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Western Canada Hockey League from 1912 to 1926 by wearing a patch of a re-colored Millionaires logo on their alternate home jerseys. The Canucks also wore throwback uniforms based on the 1915 Vancouver Millionaires in a game against the Detroit Red Wings.
• The Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers retired their third jerseys.

Regular season

Originally planned for October 11, 2012, the lockout delay pushed the start of the 2012–13 season to January 19, 2013, with 12 games for the opening night.^[26][27] Each team played 18 games within its division (four or five games for each team) and 30 games against teams in the other division (three games for each team); no interconference games were played during the regular season.^[28] The regular season was shortened from 82 games down to 48, canceling 41.5 percent of the full regular season.

Winter Classic

The 2013 NHL Winter Classic was scheduled to feature the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium (the largest stadium in North America) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but it was canceled due to the labor lockout.^[29] The game was played instead on January 1, 2014 at Michigan Stadium.^[30]

All-Star Game

Originally scheduled to take place January 27, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio, the All-Star Game was canceled as a result of the ongoing lockout.^[31][32]

European Premiere games

In past seasons, selected NHL teams began their season with exhibition games and the first two regular season games in European cities. In March 2012, the NHL announced that it had decided not to start the season with games in Europe, because of the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations and the surrounding uncertainty.^[33]

With the NHL not playing games in Europe, Russia's Kontinental Hockey League (against which the NHL has played several interleague competitions) was instead to come to the United States, with the NHL's blessing; the KHL was to feature two games between Dynamo Moscow and SKA Saint Petersburg at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on January 19 and 20, 2013.^[34] However no agreement between the KHL and the Barclays Center had been signed, and the KHL announced the two games would be held in Russia; due to the NHL lockout, the signing of a 25-year lease with the New York Islanders, and pleas from the teams' fans to keep the games in Russia.^[35]

Postponement

• The February 9 game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins at TD Garden was postponed due to inclement weather in Boston the day of the game.^[36]

Two games were affected by the Boston Marathon bombings:

• The April 15 game between the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins at TD Garden was postponed due to the bombing of the Boston Marathon earlier that day. The game was rescheduled to April 28, the day after the previous final day of the regular season.^[37]
• The April 19 game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins at TD Garden was postponed to April 20 due to the citywide lockdown as a result of the manhunt for the suspects of the bombings. As a result of the rescheduled Penguins-Bruins game, the game between the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres that was originally scheduled for April 20 was moved to April 23.^[38]

Standings

Due to the lockout, each team played 48 games this season, all within their conference.

Eastern Conference^[39]

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
1	z – Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	48	36	12	0	33	165	119	72
2	y – Montreal Canadiens	NE	48	29	14	5	26	149	126	63
3	y – Washington Capitals	SE	48	27	18	3	24	149	130	57
4	Boston Bruins	NE	48	28	14	6	24	131	109	62
5	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	48	26	17	5	26	145	133	57
6	New York Rangers	AT	48	26	18	4	22	130	112	56
7	Ottawa Senators	NE	48	25	17	6	21	116	104	56
8	New York Islanders	AT	48	24	17	7	20	139	139	55
9	Winnipeg Jets	SE	48	24	21	3	22	128	144	51
10	Philadelphia Flyers	AT	48	23	22	3	22	133	141	49
11	New Jersey Devils	AT	48	19	19	10	17	112	129	48
12	Buffalo Sabres	NE	48	21	21	6	14	125	143	48
13	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	48	19	25	4	18	128	160	42
14	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	48	18	26	4	17	148	150	40
15	Florida Panthers	SE	48	15	27	6	12	112	171	36

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs, y – Won division, z – Won best record in conference

Western Conference^[40]

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Chicago Blackhawks	CE	48	36	7	5	30	155	102	77
2	y – Anaheim Ducks	PA	48	30	12	6	24	140	118	66
3	y – Vancouver Canucks	NW	48	26	15	7	21	127	121	59
4	St. Louis Blues	CE	48	29	17	2	24	129	115	60
5	Los Angeles Kings	PA	48	27	16	5	25	133	118	59
6	San Jose Sharks	PA	48	25	16	7	17	124	116	57
7	Detroit Red Wings	CE	48	24	16	8	22	124	115	56
8	Minnesota Wild	NW	48	26	19	3	22	122	127	55
9	Columbus Blue Jackets	CE	48	24	17	7	19	120	119	55
10	Phoenix Coyotes	PA	48	21	18	9	17	125	131	51
11	Dallas Stars	PA	48	22	22	4	20	130	142	48
12	Edmonton Oilers	NW	48	19	22	7	17	125	134	45
13	Calgary Flames	NW	48	19	25	4	19	128	160	42
14	Nashville Predators	CE	48	16	23	9	14	111	139	41
15	Colorado Avalanche	NW	48	16	25	7	14	116	152	39

Divisions: CE – Central, NW – Northwest, PA – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs, y – Won division, p – Won Presidents' Trophy (best record in NHL)

Attendance

Team	Arena	Home Games	Average Attendance	Total Attendance	Capacity Percentage
Chicago Blackhawks	United Center	24	21,755	522,619	110.4% [41]
Montreal Canadiens	Bell Centre	24	21,273	510,552	100.0%
Detroit Red Wings	Joe Louis Arena	24	20,066	481,584	100.0%
Philadelphia Flyers	Wells Fargo Center	24	19,786	474,878	101.3%
Toronto Maple Leafs	Air Canada Centre	24	19,426	466,224	103.2%
Ottawa Senators	Scotiabank Place	24	19,408	465,801	101.3%
Calgary Flames	Scotiabank Saddledome	24	19,289	462,936	100.0%
Tampa Bay Lightning	Tampa Bay Times Forum	24	19,055	457,337	99.2%
Buffalo Sabres	First Niagara Center	24	18,970	455,290	99.5%
Vancouver Canucks	Rogers Arena	24	18,947	454,740	100.2%
Minnesota Wild	Xcel Energy Center	24	18,794	451,075	104.7%
Pittsburgh Penguins	Consol Energy Center	24	18,648	447,560	101.4%
Los Angeles Kings	Staples Center	24	18,178	436,295	100.3%
Washington Capitals	Verizon Center	24	17,734	425,638	95.8%
Boston Bruins	TD Garden	24	17,565	421,560	100.0%
San Jose Sharks	HP Pavilion at San Jose	24	17,561	421,472	100.0%
Carolina Hurricanes	PNC Arena	24	17,558	421,401	94.0%
St. Louis Blues	Scottrade Center	24	17,263	414,328	90.1%
New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	24	17,200	412,800	100.0%
New Jersey Devils	Prudential Center	24	17,114	410,739	97.1%
Dallas Stars	American Airlines Center	24	17,063	409,521	92.1%
Florida Panthers	BankAtlantic Center	24	16,991	407,806	99.7%
Nashville Predators	Bridgestone Arena	24	16,974	407,386	99.2%
Edmonton Oilers	Rexall Place	24	16,839	404,136	100.0%
Anaheim Ducks	Honda Center	24	15,887	381,308	92.5%
Colorado Avalanche	Pepsi Center	24	15,444	370,677	85.8%
Winnipeg Jets	MTS Centre	24	15,004	360,096	100.0%
Columbus Blue Jackets	Nationwide Arena	24	14,565	349,558	80.3%
Phoenix Coyotes	Jobing.com Arena	24	13,923	334,165	81.3%
New York Islanders	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum	24	13,306	319,362	82.3%
Total		720	17,721	12,758,849

Playoffs

Because of the lockout and delayed start of the shortened regular season, the playoffs did not begin until April 30. The last possible date of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals was then scheduled for June 28.^[42]

In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice is determined based on regular season points. As the Presidents' Trophy winners, the Blackhawks had home ice advantage in the 2013 Finals. Each best-of-seven series follows a 2–2–1–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team plays at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the lower-seeded team is at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary).

	Conference Quarterfinals					Conference Semifinals					Conference Finals					Stanley Cup Finals
	1	Pittsburgh	4			1	Pittsburgh	4
	8	NY Islanders	2			7	Ottawa	1
	2	Montreal	1							Eastern Conference
	7	Ottawa	4
											1	Pittsburgh	0
										4	Boston	4
	3	Washington	3
	6	NY Rangers	4
	4	Boston	4			4	Boston	4
	5	Toronto	3			6	NY Rangers	1
																E4	Boston	2
		(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)
																W1	Chicago	4
	1	Chicago	4			1	Chicago	4
	8	Minnesota	1			7	Detroit	3
	2	Anaheim	3
	7	Detroit	4
											1	Chicago	4
										5	Los Angeles	1
	3	Vancouver	0
	6	San Jose	4								Western Conference
	4	St. Louis	2			5	Los Angeles	4
	5	Los Angeles	4			6	San Jose	3

• During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.

NHL awards

Awards are presented during the NHL Awards television specials on June 14–15, 2013. Finalists for voted awards are announced during the playoffs and winners are presented at the awards specials. Voting concluded immediately after the end of the regular season. The President's Trophy, the Prince of Wales Trophy and Campbell Bowls are not presented at the awards specials. The Lester Patrick is announced during the summer and presented in the fall. NHL Network U.S. and NHL Network Canada aired the first part of the awards presentation on June 14, while NBC Sports Network and CBC aired the second part on June 15 preceding Game 2 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals.

2012–13 NHL awards

Award	Recipient(s)	Runner(s)-up
Stanley Cup	Chicago Blackhawks	Boston Bruins
Presidents' Trophy (Best regular-season record)	Chicago Blackhawks	Pittsburgh Penguins
Prince of Wales Trophy (Eastern Conference champion)	Boston Bruins	Pittsburgh Penguins
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (Western Conference champion)	Chicago Blackhawks	Los Angeles Kings
Art Ross Trophy (Top scorer)	Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning)	Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Perseverance, Sportsmanship, and Dedication)	Josh Harding (Minnesota Wild)	Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) Adam McQuaid (Boston Bruins)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Best first-year player)	Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers)	Brendan Gallagher (Montreal Canadiens) Brandon Saad (Chicago Blackhawks)
Conn Smythe Trophy (Most valuable player, playoffs)	Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks)
Frank J. Selke Trophy (Defensive forward)	Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks)	Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins) Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most valuable player, regular season)	Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)	Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) John Tavares (New York Islanders)
Jack Adams Award (Best coach)	Paul MacLean (Ottawa Senators)	Bruce Boudreau (Anaheim Ducks) Joel Quenneville (Chicago Blackhawks)
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best defenseman)	P. K. Subban (Montreal Canadiens)	Kris Letang (Pittsburgh Penguins) Ryan Suter (Minnesota Wild)
King Clancy Memorial Trophy (Leadership and humanitarian contribution)	Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Sportsmanship and excellence)	Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning)	Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) Matt Moulson (New York Islanders)
Ted Lindsay Award (Outstanding player)	Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)	Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Mark Messier Leadership Award (Leadership and community activities)	Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators)	Dustin Brown (Los Angeles Kings) Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks)
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (Top goal-scorer)	Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)	Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)
NHL Foundation Player Award (Award for community enrichment)	Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit Red Wings)
NHL General Manager of the Year Award (Top general manager)	Ray Shero (Pittsburgh Penguins)	Marc Bergevin (Montreal Canadiens) Bob Murray (Anaheim Ducks)
Vezina Trophy (Best goaltender)	Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets)	Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers) Antti Niemi (San Jose Sharks)
William M. Jennings Trophy (Goaltender(s) of team with fewest goals against)	Corey Crawford and Ray Emery (Chicago Blackhawks)
Lester Patrick Trophy (Service to ice hockey in U.S.)	Kevin Allen

All-Star teams

Position	First Team	Second Team	Position	All-Rookie
G	Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets	Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers	G	Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues
D	P. K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens	Francois Beauchemin, Anaheim Ducks	D	Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild
D	Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild	Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins	D	Justin Schultz, Edmonton Oilers
C	Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins	Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks	F	Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
RW	Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals	Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning	F	Brendan Gallagher, Montreal Canadiens
LW	Chris Kunitz, Pittsburgh Penguins	Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals	F	Brandon Saad, Chicago Blackhawks

Note: Alexander Ovechkin was listed as a Left Wing but played the majority of his games at Right Wing. Some members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association voted for him at Left Wing while others voted for him at Right Wing and consequently, Ovechkin placed twice on the NHL All-Star team.^[43]

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players lead the league in points following the conclusion of the regular season.^[44]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
St. Louis, MartinMartin St. Louis	Tampa Bay Lightning	48	17	43	60	0	14
Stamkos, StevenSteven Stamkos	Tampa Bay Lightning	48	29	28	57	–4	32
Ovechkin, AlexanderAlexander Ovechkin	Washington Capitals	48	32	24	56	+2	36
Crosby, SidneySidney Crosby	Pittsburgh Penguins	36	15	41	56	+26	16
Kane, PatrickPatrick Kane	Chicago Blackhawks	47	23	32	55	+11	8
Staal, EricEric Staal	Carolina Hurricanes	48	18	35	53	+5	54
Kunitz, ChrisChris Kunitz	Pittsburgh Penguins	48	22	30	52	+30	39
Kessel, PhilPhil Kessel	Toronto Maple Leafs	48	20	32	52	–3	18
Hall, TaylorTaylor Hall	Edmonton Oilers	45	16	34	50	+5	33
Getzlaf, RyanRyan Getzlaf	Anaheim Ducks	44	15	34	49	+14	41
Datsyuk, PavelPavel Datsyuk	Detroit Red Wings	47	15	34	49	+21	14

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders lead the league in goals against average following the conclusion of the regular season while playing at least 1200 minutes.^[45]

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	Min	W	L	OT	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Anderson, CraigCraig Anderson	Ottawa Senators	24	1420:36	12	9	2	40	3	.941	1.69
Crawford, CoreyCorey Crawford	Chicago Blackhawks	30	1760:31	19	5	5	57	3	.926	1.94
Bobrovsky, SergeiSergei Bobrovsky	Columbus Blue Jackets	38	2218:57	21	11	6	74	4	.932	2.00
Rask, TuukkaTuukka Rask	Boston Bruins	36	2104:09	19	10	5	70	5	.929	2.00
Lundqvist, HenrikHenrik Lundqvist	New York Rangers	43	2575:22	24	16	3	88	2	.926	2.05
Schneider, CoryCory Schneider	Vancouver Canucks	30	1733:19	17	9	4	61	5	.927	2.11
Howard, JimmyJimmy Howard	Detroit Red Wings	42	2445:44	21	13	7	87	5	.923	2.13
Niemi, AnttiAntti Niemi	San Jose Sharks	43	2580:46	24	12	6	93	4	.924	2.16
Fasth, ViktorViktor Fasth	Anaheim Ducks	25	1428:18	15	6	2	52	4	.921	2.18
Brodeur, MartinMartin Brodeur	New Jersey Devils	29	1757:21	13	9	7	65	2	.901	2.22

Milestones

First games

The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game in 2013, listed with their first team:

Player	Team	Notability
Nail Yakupov	Edmonton Oilers	First overall pick in the 2012 Draft
Jonathan Huberdeau	Florida Panthers	Winner of the 2012–13 Calder Memorial Trophy

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2012–13, listed with their team:

Player	Team	Notability
Adrian Aucoin[46]	Columbus Blue Jackets	Played 1,108 games over 18 seasons.
Steve Begin[47]	Calgary Flames	Jacques-Beauchamp Molson Trophy winner.
Rick DiPietro[48]	New York Islanders	1-time NHL All-Star.
Ruslan Fedotenko[49]	Philadelphia Flyers	2-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Roman Hamrlik[50]	New York Rangers	First overall pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, three-time All-Star (1996, 1999, 2003), played 1,395 games over 20 seasons.
Milan Hejduk[51]	Colorado Avalanche	1999 NHL All-Rookie Team, 1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Avalanche, three-time All-Star and 2003 Second Team All-Star, 2003 Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner.
Tomas Kaberle[52]	Montreal Canadiens	1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Boston Bruins, Olympic bronze medalist, 4-time NHL All-Star.
Miikka Kiprusoff[53]	Calgary Flames	2006 First Team All-Star, 2006 Vezina Trophy winner, 2006 William M. Jennings Trophy winner.
Mike Knuble[54]	Philadelphia Flyers	Stanley Cup Winner with Detroit in 1998 and played over 1,000 games.
Ilya Kovalchuk[55]	New Jersey Devils	First overall pick of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, 2002 NHL All-Rookie Team, three-time All-Star and two-time NHL All-Star Team, 2004 Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner.
Alexei Kovalev[56]	Florida Panthers	1994 Stanley Cup Champion with the New York Rangers, 2008 NHL Second All-Star Team, Olympic Gold (1992) for the Unified Team and Bronze (2002) for Russia.
Jamie Langenbrunner[57]	St. Louis Blues	Two Time Stanley Cup Champion with the Dallas Stars (1999) and New Jersey Devils (2003), Silver medalist for the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Chad LaRose[58]	Carolina Hurricanes	1-time Stanley Cup champion with the Hurricanes.
Toni Lydman[59]	Anaheim Ducks	Olympic silver and bronze medalist.
Andy McDonald[60]	St. Louis Blues	2007 Stanley Cup Champion with the Anaheim Ducks, 2007 NHL All-Star Skills Fastest Skater.
Jay Pandolfo[61]	Boston Bruins	2-time Stanley Cup champion with the New Jersey Devils.
Joni Pitkanen[62]	Carolina Hurricanes	Olympic bronze medalist.
Tom Poti[63]	Washington Capitals	Olympic silver medalist.
Vinny Prospal[64]	Columbus Blue Jackets	Played 1,108 games over 16 seasons.
Wade Redden[65]	Boston Bruins	Played in NHL All-Star Game 2002, Played in 2005 IIHF World Championship for Team Canada, Won NHL Plus-Minus Award in 2006 .
Steve Sullivan[66]	New Jersey Devils	Over 1000 games played.
Sheldon Souray[67]	Anaheim Ducks	2-time NHL All-Star .
José Théodore[68]	Florida Panthers	Vezina Trophy winner; Hart Memorial Trophy winner; Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner; Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award winner; 1-time NHL All-Star.

Major milestones reached

• On January 21, 2013, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier participated in his 1,000th NHL game.^[69]
• On January 27, 2013, New Jersey Devils forward Patrik Elias recorded his 900th career point.^[70] He became the 97th player in league history to reach this milestone.
• On February 4, 2013, Colorado Avalanche forward Milan Hejduk participated in his 1,000th NHL game.^[71]
• On February 7, 2013, St. Louis Blues defenseman Wade Redden participated in his 1,000th NHL game.^[72]
• On February 9, 2013, New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur participated in his 1,200th NHL game. He became the 93rd player, and the first goaltender, to reach this milestone.^[73][74]
• On February 22, 2013, the Chicago Blackhawks set a record by earning at least one point in 17 consecutive games to start a season. The previous record of 16 consecutive games was held by the 2006–07 Anaheim Ducks.^[75] The Blackhawks went on to extend the record for consecutive games with a point to start a season to 24 games (21–0–3).
• On March 3, 2013, Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa participated in his 1,000th NHL game.^[76]
• On March 5, 2013, Montreal Canadiens captain Brian Gionta scored the team's 20,000th NHL goal.^{[note 1]}
• On March 6, 2013, Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Ray Emery becomes the first goaltender in league history to start a season with 10 straight wins.^[77] He extended it to 12 straight wins to start a season on March 26.
• On March 18, 2013, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen participated in his 1,000th NHL game.^[78]
• On March 28, 2013, Phoenix Coyotes forward Steve Sullivan participated in his 1,000th NHL game.^[79]
• On March 29, 2013, Dallas Stars forward Jaromir Jagr recorded his 1,000th career assist,^[80] becoming the 12th player in league history and the first non-Canadian to do so.
• On March 30, 2013, the Pittsburgh Penguins set a record by becoming the first NHL franchise to win every game during a calendar month. The Penguins defeated the New York Islanders 2–0, winning 15 consecutive games from March 2 until March 30.^[81]
• On April 22, 2013, Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tomas Vokoun won his 300th NHL game. He became the 28th player in league history to reach this milestone.^[82]

Notes

^ 1: Michael Cammalleri had previously scored the 20,000th goal in Canadiens' franchise history on December 28, 2009. Cammalleri's mark included goals from the Canadiens time in the National Hockey Association.^[83]

References

External links

Media related to 2012-2013 National Hockey League season at Wikimedia Commons

• 2012–13 NHL season Schedule