Penguins Miles Behind Competition, Literally Speaking

Here’s a plane ride the Penguins didn’t mind taking.
Photo by Ally Ruggieri/WESA.fm

Metaphorically speaking, the Penguins have been miles ahead of the competition the past two seasons. However, in terms of actual mileage traveled, the other 30 teams in the NHL lap the Penguins. The Penguins will travel the least out of all 31 NHL teams this season with an estimated at 34,041 travel miles. Compare that to the Colorado Avalanche ?s projected 48,639 miles, tops in the NHL. That is a difference of 14,598 travel miles between the Penguins and Avalanche. While a difference of 14,500+ miles of travel spread over the course of an entire NHL season may not seem like much, consider that 14,500 miles would be the equivalent of approximately three round trips from Pittsburgh to San Diego.

Because of the comparatively light travel schedule, the NHL had no problem giving the Penguins 19 sets of back-to-back games this season, tied for the most in the NHL with Ottawa. There are 27 weeks in the regular season, and in 19 of the weeks, or 70% of the weeks on the schedule, the Penguins face a back-to-back scenario. The Penguins will have four sets of back-to-backs in October, three in November, one in December, three in January, three in February, three in March, and two in April. On five occasions the Penguins will play a set of back-to-back games, have two to four days off, and then play another set of back-to-back games. This is nothing new for the Penguins considering that they have played no less than 15 sets of back-to-backs in each of the past five seasons.

The Penguins played 15 sets of back-to-backs last season, earning a record of 12-10-3-3 in back-to-back games. The team posted a record of 6-6-1-1 in the first games of back-to-backs and 6-4-2-2 record in the second game of such scenarios, which disproves the theory that the team was more likely to lose the second game of back-to-backs due to fatigue. Of course, there are many other factors that play into the records in back-to-back games, such as length of travel, and if the opponent had also played the night before.

This season ?s schedule is not as compressed as it could have been had the NHL participated in the Winter Olympics. However, there is a built-in bye week January 8-12, which is a bit ironic. The irony is that the week is meant to give the players a break from the grueling schedule, however, by adding a bye week it actually slightly compresses the rest of the schedule. The bye week was implemented last season after it was negotiated by the NHL Players Association in exchange for approval of the three-on-three format for the All-Star game.

Another quirk to this season ?s schedule is the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights. The expansion team in Sin City will be cause for the Penguins to make three trips to the West Coast, instead of just two. In seasons past, the Penguins would be able to hit Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, Colorado, and Arizona all in one trip. However, with the addition of Vegas, the Penguins will make two separate trips to see their Pacific division foes. December 14-18 the Penguins will visit Vegas, Arizona, and Colorado. Then, almost exactly a month later, the Penguins will be back in the Pacific time zone to visit Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Jose. The Penguins will also visit the Pacific and Mountain time zones on their longest trip of the season, which runs October 28-November 4, with stops in Minnesota, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. While three trips to the West Coast in three consecutive months may seem daunting, consider that the Penguins do not leave the Eastern time zone after a February 11^th tilt in the Central time zone versus St. Louis.

Regardless of how many sets of back-to-backs, time zone changes, and travel miles, the performance on the ice is what matters. In the end, all 31 teams are allotted the same amount of time on the ice and success is determined by how effectively teams use that time, not the time spent in planes, trains, and automobiles.

Vince Comunale

Professional sports writer, fluent in sarcasm and other humorous arts. Bachelor and Master degrees from Duquesne University. Member of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. Have previously written for many outlets, including the AP, Sports Xchange, PA SportsTicker, etc. Regularly appear as a guest on local sports radio. Expert at Name That Tune and proficient in many other areas of useless knowledge.