Practice Notes: Panarin's shootout prowess paying off for Jackets

Each time Artemi Panarin grabs the puck in a shootout, the expectation now is that he'll score a goal.
Maybe it'll be with a slick little forehand-backhand deke. Maybe he'll roof a shot off the backhand. Maybe he'll give a head fake and just blow it by the goalie off the forehand.
"I just think he feels comfortable, and when he's going down there I think he's just creative," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "I think it just comes to him. I don't think he's overthinking it. I just think he plays."

Also, he scores. A lot.
After scoring the lone goal in the Blue Jackets' 2-1 shootout win Thursday at Nationwide Arena, Panarin leads the NHL with five shootout goals. He's 5-for-9 for a blistering 55.6 percent success rate, and improved to 10-for-16 in two-plus NHL seasons (62.5 percent).
It's a major advantage for Columbus, which leads the NHL with a 12-0-3 record in games that go beyond regulation - including 6-0-3 in nine shootouts.
"I don't think too many goalies let in two in those things there," Tortorella said. "You [want to] get a quick lead. I remember when the rule came in, you had your choice of who goes first, who goes second. A lot of teams - there was an analytic, I guess - that you'd [rather] go second. I like going first, because you want to get a lead."
Having Panarin helps with that, especially after Cam Atkinson went down with a fractured bone in his foot two days before Christmas. Columbus also added veteran forward Jussi Jokinen to the mix Wednesday, via waivers, and he's got a strong track record in shootouts too.
"When we lost Cam, I used 'Bread' [Panarin] to go first the last time we did it [prior to the Stars game]," Tortorella said. "We'd get a lead. I know 'Bread' likes going second. With 'Juss' here, 'Juss' will probably lead off."
Jokinen did lead off against Dallas, and was denied on a five-hole attempt by goalie Ben Bishop. He's 0-for-2 in shootouts this season, but 19-for-65 (29.2 percent) in his NHL career.
Atkinson, meanwhile, is 2-for-4 this season and 13-for-36 in his career (36.1 percent).
Once he returns, the Blue Jackets will have a tough trio to top in the OT breakaways.
"We're involved in all these close games," Tortorella said. "We're finding our way there, and hopefully when we get to these situations as we go through the games, we have some people that are able to step up."
News & Notes
--Atkinson skated in full gear for the second time since his surgery Dec. 27 to repair the bone in his foot. He skated on his own prior to practice, and then participated in about half of the Jackets' 70-minute workout Saturday at the OhioHealth Ice Haus.
Atkinson skated on a line with forward Markus Hannikainen and center Brandon Dubinsky, who's also on injured reserve with an orbital bone injury.
"He's on the ice," Tortorella said of Atkinson. "As [with] each player that's been hurt, once they get on the ice, that's encouraging."
Defenseman Ryan Murray (upper body) and rookie forward Sonny Milano (oblique tear) are also on injured reserve. Neither skated, but both made the trip.
--Former Blue Jackets center William Karlsson scored his 25th goal for the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, which put him three behind Washington Capitals left wing Alexander Ovechkin for the NHL lead.
Karlsson, who was selected by Vegas in the NHL expansion draft last summer, had a total of 15 goals in 162 games in two seasons with Columbus. Now, he's one of the NHL's biggest breakout stories.
"If you asked anyone, I don't know if anyone would say he would score [25] goals, but you know what, he became hot and he stayed hot - and that's just how it is," said Blue Jackets center Alex Wennberg, a close friend of Karlsson's. "He's not trying to overthink it. He's just out there playing, ended up in a good spot and he just keeps going."
Wennberg and Karlsson stay in touch via text messages, and will likely meet up prior to the Blue Jackets' game against the Golden Knights on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena.
"I tell him to go harder, right?" Wennberg said. "It's insane, and I'm so happy for him. It's nice for him to get an opportunity to play in Vegas, get more minutes and opportunities on power plays, and he's making the most of it."
--The Golden Knights' inaugural season has been astounding thus far.
They have 64 points through the first 45 games of their existence, lead the Western Conference standings and hold an eight-point advantage over the San Jose Sharks in the Pacific Division.
Vegas also has a goal differential of plus-30, and an 18-2-2 record on home ice, prompting some to coin the phrase, "The Vegas Flu," to describe visiting Sin City. Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno, however, isn't buying the theory that Vegas' home record is propped up by opponents who party too much.
"I think it's just the first season," Foligno said. "Everyone's excited to be there, and I think it's just, also, a whole new atmosphere. As much as you might say, 'Oh, teams are just going out and partying,' I think there's just so much to get used to."
Las Vegas was also the site of a mass shooting that killed 58 people Oct. 1, which stirred emotions.
"They've had a lot to rally around in that city, so they've got a lot to prove," Foligno said. "And, I think more or less, you've got 22 guys that are [ticked] off they were probably left open [in the expansion draft], and have something to prove. And they're playing like it. That's the motivation, I think. I don't think teams are going in there thinking, 'Oh, man, we're just going to blow it out and see what happens in the game.'"