Canucks and Predators have most brutal travel schedule of any playoff series

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The Vancouver Canucks are used to a challenging travel schedule. Given where Vancouver is situated geographically, it’s no surprise that the Canucks travel more than most other teams in the NHL.

But even by their standards, the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be taxing.

The Canucks-Predators series is as bad as it gets when it comes to travel within your own conference. There isn’t another possible matchup before the Stanley Cup Final that is more challenging travel-wise than the 3,266-kilometre journey between Vancouver and Nashville.

If you add up the travel distances between cities for each of the Eastern Conference series, it doesn’t come close to the distance between Vancouver and Nashville. It’s about 50% further than Edmonton and Los Angeles, whose 2,200 km separation is the second-longest distance between first-round opponents.

Flying from Vancouver to the Tennessee capital takes four to five hours. The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning could drive to each other’s arenas in less time. The same is true for the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals.

This isn’t an excuse for the Canucks. After all, both they and the Predators will have to endure the same travel schedule in this series. NHL teams also fly on private planes.

But travel is a well-understood challenge for professional athletes, particularly when you’re crossing two time zones, like the Predators and Canucks will do. It could become a factor down the line for whichever team wins the series.

Here’s a breakdown of the distances that will need to be travelled for each playoff series:

1. Vancouver-Nashville: 3,266 km
2. Edmonton-Los Angeles: 2,200 km
3. Dallas-Vegas: 1,719 km
4. Winnipeg-Colorado: 1,285 km
5. Carolina-NY Islanders: 697 km
6. Boston-Toronto: 695 km
7. NY Rangers-Washington: 337 km
8. Florida-Tampa Bay: 306 km

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