Shortening the journey.

[MacLeod]

But isn't the point not so much the frequency of battles but in the very next episode (assuming it wasn't a multi-parter) the ship would look brand new? The Captain's log is a great way to address issues.

Cpatain's Log, whilst we have managed to repair the hull damage from the Battle with the <insert name>, Several decks still remain out of use.

Captain's Log, Engineering reports the have come up with a way which will allow us to replenish or Phton Torpedeo reserves.

etc...

All it takes up is a few seconds of screen time, and has minimal impact on the actual episode. In a visual story telling medium you should ideally show the audiance and falling that at the very least tell the audiance. But to do neither is sloppy writting TNG and TOS could get away with it in part as they could easily put into a Starfleet Repair Yard in between episodes for repair and new crew. VOY cdertainly didn't have the option for the later as for the former sure they could perhaps put in at a repair facility but they wouldn't have access to Starfleet parts. And yes the replicator would work for certain parts but as we are told they have no way to replace their Photon torpdeos, it means the replicator has limits as to what they can replicate.

 

[Anwar]

Let's be honest here. If they had done something like the Xindi arc in Voyager and ended it with them finding a friendly repair station...and the next episode had a clear time-jump to a few months later with the ship fixed and the crew's injuries healed....

...It would still be derided as a reset button and anything the audience enjoyed about the preceding storyline would be instantly forgotten.

 

[MAGolding]

True. In Where No One Has Gone Before the E-D travels 2.7m light years but would only take 300 years to get home. So it would travel 9000 ly in one year while Voyager could only do 1000. The E-D would have been home from the Delat Quadrant in eight years*.

*But then Voyager did it in seven!

Possibly they could travel much faster in intergalactic space than inside a galaxy. The lesser matter density in intergalactic space would mean they had to use a lot less energy to deflect matter from in front of the ship. The travel time of long trips within the galaxy for E-D in episodes like "Q Who" and "The Price" indicated speeds similar to Voyager.

 

[Anwar]

Possibly the could travel much faster in intergalactic space than inside a galaxy. The lesser matter density in intergalactic space would mean they had to use a lot less energy to deflect matter from in front of the ship. The travel time of long trips within the galaxy for E-D in episodes like "Q Who" and "The Price" indicated speeds similar to Voyager.

Having Voyager state it would only take them about 7-8 years to make it back home wouldn't really have affected the show much. It probably would've been better if it WASN'T something like 75 years...because absolutely no one really believed they wouldn't find a faster way back anyways.