On December 12, 2011, the Kings fired head coachTerry Murray and named John Stevens interim head coach. On December 20, 2011, the Kings hired Darryl Sutter to be their head coach, replacing Stevens. With only one month to play in the regular season, the Kings were tenth in the Western Conference, two seeds away from a playoff spot. Their defense and goal tending being the only highlights throughout most the season, highlighted by Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty. The offense was loaded with talent, but unable to find any kind of significant consistency. Until the final month and a half, when they proceeded to go 12–4–3 in their final 19 games as their offense finally caught fire and started scoring the goals they lacked earlier in the year. Securing the eighth and final playoff seed in their 81st, a shoot-out loss to their arch rivals, the San Jose Sharks. Out of the Kings' 82 regular season games, 21 ended in a shutout; the Kings were shut-out ten times, the most of any NHL team in the regular season.
Playoffs
The Kings made the playoffs for the third consecutive season, needing a win in the final game to secure the eighth seed. The Kings also became the second team to eliminate the first, second and third seeds from the playoffs in the same post-season, as well as the only team to win the Stanley Cup after defeating the first, second and third seeds in sequence. They then defeated the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals, becoming the first eighth seed in North Americanprofessional sports history to win a championship. They are also one of the few teams to win a championship after never benefiting from home-venue advantage in the post-season. Los Angeles would start every series by winning the first three games, only sweeping the St. Louis Blues.
Standings
Schedule and results
Pre-season
Regular season
Playoffs
Player statistics
Skaters
Regular season
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Playoffs
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Goaltenders
Regular season
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Playoffs
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†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Kings. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.
‡Traded mid-season.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.
Underline denotes currently with a minor league affiliate.
The 2011–12 season will be the fourth season of ECHL hockey for the franchise since moving to Ontario from Texas. It saw the Reign capture their second Pacific Division Regular Season championship and their second playoff berth. However, the Reign lost to the Idaho Steelheads in the first round of the 2012 Kelly Cup playoffs. The Reign have never advanced past the first round in their franchise history.
