The impact of reduced travel

Never known as a team with an easy travel schedule, the Kings traversed 48,432 miles during the regular season, according to Nashville Predators blog On the Forecheck. With five trips to the Eastern Time Zone and a schedule that included four hour flights to play teams within the conference, the Kings logged more miles than all but six teams this season.

Through the first 10 games of the playoffs, Los Angeles has taken four 50-minute round trip flights to San Jose and a pair of bus trips south to Orange County. The eased travel burden in the realigned divisional playoff format has paid dividends for many Pacific Division teams, and on Monday commissioner Gary Bettman noted the proximity in all playoff series, saying that “if you look at all the others, there is no travel that extends to 400 miles.”

How does this travel schedule affect the Kings and the Ducks, both in this series and in subsequent series?

Darryl Sutter, on how the reduced travel impacts the series:
It hasn’t yet. There’s been time between, and quite honest, once you know your schedule, then you’re more working with the players on what time the game actually starts. The 6:30 time tonight affects what you did yesterday more than what you do today. I’m sure both teams take full advantage of their own facility to use that properly. That’s sort of not got anything to do with the travel. It’s more how you take advantage of what you have, what you’re familiar with.

Dustin Brown, on whether this series has an ‘East coast feel’ because of the travel:
Both of our first two series have been minimal travel, especially compared to years past. I think that’s what the realignment, you’re kind of playing in your own division, which is generally closer. Last year, it was a four and a half hour flight in two of the series. That definitely wears on you, especially when you’re going back and forth in a series. From a travel standpoint, being fresh it makes a big difference this series and last series only having a 50 minute flight to San Jose.

Brown, on the close proximity of the teams creating a level playing field:
I don’t know. Again, both teams have to travel regardless. Where I think this makes a difference is for the teams that move on. They’re probably going to be better off than, let’s say we were last year or the Blackhawks were last year. It’s the teams that advance that reap the benefits later in the later round. [Reporter: It’s still only a 45 minute bus ride to Anaheim instead of getting on airplanes.] Right, that’s what I mean. That, compiled with the San Jose series – Anaheim had a bit of travel to Dallas – but it’s even in a series when both teams have to travel, again, down the road. Depending on the team that advances, they can use this extra non-travel. It will play a part. [Reporter: The teams in New York and New Jersey have lived this way for years.] Yeah, it’s definitely different. I’ve never played [there], so I don’t’ know what it’s like to play in the East. But out here, it’s part of what you get used to playing out here.