Inside The Numbers: The State Fair Western Swing

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes are in the midst of their longest road trip of the season, playing six consecutive games away from Lenovo Center.

Taking place this time just about every year because of the North Carolina State Fair, the road trip began on October 17 and the team will return on October 29.

12 days on the road may not sound like a long time to some, and it may sound like an eternity for others. However that applies to you, let's take a bit of a closer look at what goes into a trek like this.

How Many Miles?

Unlike previous iterations of the trip, the Canes started the six-game swing on the eastern part of the United States and then worked their way west.

Avoiding a long flight with a pit stop for gas in Middle America, at least on the way out, here's how many miles the team will cover by air:

Raleigh to Pittsburgh: 328 miles

Pittsburgh to St. Louis: 554 miles

St. Louis to Edmonton: 1,490 miles

Edmonton to Calgary: 183 miles

Calgary to Seattle: 441 miles

Seattle to Vancouver: 140 miles

Vancouver to Raleigh: 2,440 miles

Even with most of those calculations being the straight line distance between the two cities, the group will log at least 5,576 air miles during the 13 days.

How Much Time In The Sky?

Covering over 5,500 miles on the plane means a lot of time for cards, music, or sleep. Here's approximately how much time the group is spending in the air during the 13-day trek:

Raleigh to Pittsburgh: 1 hour and 7 minutes

Pittsburgh to St. Louis: 1 hour and 46 minutes (+ an hour due to ET to CT time change)

St. Louis to Edmonton: 3 hours and 19 minutes (+ an hour due to CT to MT time change)

Edmonton to Calgary: 47 minutes

Calgary to Seattle: 1 hour and 21 minutes (+ an hour due to MT to PT time change)

Seattle to Vancouver: 44 minutes

Vancouver to Raleigh: 5 hours and 3 minutes (- lose three due to PT to ET time change)

Barring delays or any other unforeseen circumstances, that means that the team will have spent a total of 14 hours and seven minutes aboard the aircraft.

Notables In Each City...

Frederik Andersen and Shayne Gostisbehere have been exceptional through the first three games of the trek for Carolina.

Here are some other notes regarding each of the cities on the trip:

Pittsburgh: Andersen has now played in 12 games against the Penguins since the start of the 2016-17 season, posting a .937 save percentage in them. Stopping 25 out of 26 in Friday's win, his save percentage now ranks 5th out of 61 goalies who have faced the Pens at least five times in the last eight seasons.

St. Louis: Since he appeared in the city as an All-Star in 2020, Jaccob Slavin now has five points in four games at Enterprise Center, including an assist in Saturday's game.

Edmonton: Despite being held off the scoresheet on Tuesday, Andrei Svechnikov has had success against the Oil over the course of his career. Highlighted by two hat tricks during the 2022-23 season, #37 has 15 points in 11 games against them.

Calgary: As the Canes arrive at the Saddledome, Sebastian Aho has three goals in his last three games there.

Seattle: Seth Jarvis played his junior hockey in the Pacific Northwest and he's continued his success there since turning pro. In three visits to Seattle, he's had three goals and four points.

Vancouver: Rogers Arena has notoriously been a house of horrors for Carolina. 4-12-4 there all-time, their .300 win percentage is the worst among all active buildings that they've played in at least 20 times. Perhaps they can spin their fortune and earn a happy plane ride home.

Returning Home...

When the trip finally concludes for the group, the team will play four games in eight days at Lenovo Center.

• Thursday, October 31 vs. Boston | Halloween Night | 7 p.m.
• Sunday, November 3 vs. Washington | 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 5 vs. Philadelphia | 7 p.m.
• Thursday, November 7 vs. Pittsburgh | Veterans Day Celebration | 7 p.m.

To view tickets for the four games, click here.