The 2012–13 Anaheim Ducks season was the 20th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise. The season was partially cancelled due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, which ended on January 6, 2013. The 2012–13 campaign for the Ducks commenced as a shortened, 48-game season, beginning January 19[1] away against the Vancouver Canucks. The shortened season featured only intra-conference games.[1] The Ducks compensated for a disappointing season in 2011–12 in which they struggled in the first half of the season and dug a hole that was too deep to climb out of despite a second-half resurgence. The previous season marked the second time in their last three seasons that the Ducks missed the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Despite amassing a 30–12–6 regular season record, finishing second place in the Western Conference, and winning the Pacific Division for the second time in franchise history, the Ducks disappointed in the playoffs, falling to the Detroit Red Wings 4–3. The Ducks held a 3–2 series lead in the after Game 5, but lost Game 6 in overtime to Detroit before falling apart offensively in the decisive Game 7.[2]
Prior to the lockout, the original 2012–13 Anaheim Ducks regular season schedule was released in June 2012. Their home and season opener was scheduled to take place on Friday, October 12 against San Jose, and the Ducks were to have enjoyed a four-game homestand to start the season.
On Thursday, October 4, the NHL cancelled all games scheduled through Wednesday, October 24, causing the Ducks to lose their first six games of the season.[3] On October 19, 2012, games through November 1 were cancelled, causing the Ducks to lose three more games. Only one week later, on October 26, all November games were cancelled, and a tentative start date of December 1 was set. On November 23, 2012, all games through December 14 were axed, impacting six games on the Ducks' schedule. On December 11, 2012, all games through December 30 were eliminated. Nine days later, on December 20, 2012, further lack of negotiations during the lockout led to the cancellation of all games through January 14.
On January 6, 2013, the lockout ended after a 16-hour negotiation session in an effort to save the season. A condensed season, of a length of 48 intra-conference games, will now be played.
Under the new, lockout-shortened 48-game schedule, the Ducks opened the season by sweeping a two-game Canadian road trip, with a decisive 7–3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, January 19, at 7 p.m. PST, followed by a 5–4 decision against the Calgary Flames on Monday, January 21. Their home opener will now take place at Honda Center on Friday, January 25, also against the Canucks. The distinction of the Ducks' longest homestand will be split between two five-game stretches from March 18 – 25 and from April 3 to 10. Anaheim's lengthiest road trip was a six-game haul from February 6 – 16. Also, due to the shortened nature of the schedule and the objective of condensing travel, all games will be against the Ducks' own Western Conference opponents, and no games will be played against Eastern Conference teams. This condensed schedule structure also leads to the development of anomalies absent from a normal 82-game schedule, such as playing back-to-back games against the same team in the same location. For example, the Ducks host the Dallas Stars at Honda Center on both April 3 and 5, and later play games on two consecutive nights at the Edmonton Oilers on April 21 and 22. The Ducks will end the regular season on Saturday, April 27, at home against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Below is the new, truncated 2012–13 schedule for the Ducks.
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Note: GP = Games played; GS = Games Started; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; SA= Shots against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Ducks. Stats reflect time with Ducks only. ‡Traded mid-season. Bold/italics denotes franchise record
The Ducks have been involved in the following transactions during the 2012–13 season.
Anaheim Ducks' picks at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 22 and 23, 2012.