2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Mileage

The road to Stanley Cup is an intense one regardless of route. It's length in miles, however, varies greatly according to matchup.

Using this handy city distance tool, the chart below shows total miles and average miles per round accrued by teams in the 2010 NHL playoffs. All figures include a trip home after each round save direct trips by Detroit from Phoenix to San Jose, by Montreal from Washington to Pittsburgh, and by Chicago from Vancouver to San Jose between rounds.

Total Miles--''--Avg/Round
DET: 13,176--''''-''PHO: 6,740
CHI: 12,227----'-''DET: 6,588
SJS: 11,518----'''''-VAN: 5,706
VAN: 11,412--'''--LAK: 4,320
PHI: 7,754----''-'''-SJS: 3,839
PHO: 6,740--'''-''-COL: 3, 704
MTL: 5,751----''--'CHI: 3,057
LAK: 4,320--''''''-'WAS: 1,956
COL: 3,704----'--'PHI: 1,938
PIT: 3,528------''-MTL: 1,917
BOS: 2,680------''PIT: 1,764
WAS: 1,956-----'-'OTT: 1,624
OTT: 1,624-----'--BUF: 1,588
BUF: 1,588-------'NAS: 1,588
NAS: 1,588-------'BOS: 1,340
NJD: 154------'---'NJD: 154

This year Detroit collected the most total miles (13,176) and miles in a round (8,424), with Phoenix leading in average miles per round (6,740). New Jersey finished with the fewest in each category (154) owing to their early exit to turnpike foe Philadelphia. Amazingly, the Red Wings managed more miles in their 13 day first round (8,424) than the Cup Finalist Flyers did in the entire 56 day postseason run (7,754).

In all, 2010 Stanley Cup playoff participants collectively logged 89,720 miles this postseason for an average of 5,607, up from the 2009 totals of 74,798 and 4,675 respectively. The greatest distance traveled between two cities during this playoff run was from Detroit to San Jose (2,070) with the mileage between New Jersey and Philadelphia (77) being the least. Not surprisingly, 7 of the top 16 teams in terms of average mileage per round are Western Conference teams, the outlier being Nashville whose first round opponent Chicago was a mere 397 miles away.

Though the number of wins to hoist the Stanley Cup is a constant (16), there is no set number of miles to the destination. As long as you're on the road, however, you're likely still in the running.