Panarin displayed wide range of skills in huge weekend for Jackets

What a way to start a weekend, huh?
If you happen to see Artemi Panarin walking around town Sunday with a smile on his face, well, it's because he usually has a smile on his face. It may also have something to do with the six juicy apples he dished out to his Blue Jackets teammates the past couple days.
Panarin's six assists, all primaries, helped the Jackets sweep a back-to-back set this weekend against the New Jersey Devils on Friday at Prudential Center and Arizona Coyotes on Saturday at Nationwide Arena.
He strung together five against the Devils in a 5-3 victory, tying two franchise records, and tacked on another against the Coyotes on the only goal in a 1-0 win. His weekend performance was another reminder of why Columbus agreed to its part of a blockbuster trade last summer to get him from the Chicago Blackhawks, just hours before the 2017 NHL Draft began in Chicago.
Panarin isn't a carbon copy of the Blackhawks' Patrick Kane, whom he played with for two seasons, but he's pretty darn close - as the Devils, especially, found out. Friday night, he became the first player in more than 20 years to tally five primary assists in an NHL game.

He also set career highs in assists and points for a single game, and tied the Blue Jackets' franchise marks in those categories, matching Espen Knutsen (2001) in assists and four previous Columbus players with five-point games.
Panarin's sixth assist of the weekend was the cherry on top.
Here's a look at all six goals the Blue Jackets scored in the two games, and the skills Panarin used to set up each one:
Assist #1
The goal scorer: Pierre-Luc Dubois, rookie center
The situation:Columbus trailed, 2-0, after a lackluster first period, and came out of the first intermission more determined. The top line of Panarin, Dubois and Josh Anderson were on their second shift of the second period, barely two minutes after it started, when they created a goal that changed the game.
The play:Before we get into Panarin's part, credit Dubois for two key things.
First was his snipe of a wrist shot that beat Devils goalie Cory Schneider clean from the slot, with no traffic in front. Second, Dubois used a great backcheck against fellow teen rookie center Nico Hischier to start the play. Hischier, 18, went around Dubois, but the Jackets' 19-year old center used his long reach to poke the puck off his stick.
He also stapled Hischier to the end boards, as the puck was sent back into the Devils' zone. Panarin chased after it, cruising up behind New Jersey's Steven Santini, who was going to chip it out of the zone. In the bat of an eye, Panarin knocked his stick away and slid a drop pass to Dubois for the scoring chance.
The skill:Panarin's stick lift and dish happened so fast, it was hard to tell what happened at live speed. It's not easy to see it on replay, either, until you slow it down. That part alone was impressive, but to also know Dubois was coming and send him a perfect feed, so quickly, was elite caliber playmaking.
"The biggest play was the first one, because he gave us some life," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "I thought we were working hard, but [Schneider] has played really well. Just to get us to cut that [lead] in half, when it was 2-0 … they go up, 3-0, who know where it goes?"

Assist #2
The goal scorer: Lukas Sedlak, fourth-line center
The situation:Columbus trailed, 2-1, but started to put the Devils on their heels more often following Dubois' goal. The Jackets' top line was at the end of its shift, but Panarin stayed on a little longer. Good thing he did.
The play:The Devils' Andy Greene got a little careless, standing in his own zone, and tried to send a cross-ice exit pass to the right wing of the neutral zone. Panarin intercepted it, and immediately headed back into the Devils' zone.
The skill:Once again, Panarin's awareness and hands were evident. He looked like a safety in football, anticipating the pass and reacting to pick it off. Once in the offensive zone, he slowed up in the slot and spotted Sedlak. His pass was placed slightly behind Sedlak, which prevented Greene from breaking it up, and a second later the game was tied, 2-2.
"I thought he started getting physical," Tortorella said of Sedlak. "Ends up with a great pass [from Panarin] and scores a goal, so it's good we get some guys chipping in."

Assist #3
The goal scorer: Scott Harrington, defenseman
The situation:The Blue Jackets had just killed their second consecutive penalty, after Brandon Dubinsky was sent off for delay of game. Panarin, Boone Jenner and Dubois were put on the ice to give the penalty-killers a rest, and it led to this goal off Panarin's third "apple" of the night.
The play:The Blue Jackets forced a turnover in the neutral zone, and their three forwards had a 3-on-2 situation at the Devils' blue line. Dubois carried it over the line, dished it to Panarin on the right wing and he took it from there.
The skill:Panarin exhibited patience, strength on the puck and hockey knowledge to set up this goal. After getting the puck, he carried it toward the net, into the right circle and held off forward Stefan Noesen's back check. He drew the attention of two defenders, and he slid a quick cross-ice feed back toward the top of the left circle - where he trusted Harrington would be. Indeed, Harrington was there and buried the wrist shot to put Columbus up, 3-2, with 5:47 left in the second.
"Great pass on my goal," Harrington said. "He's a special player, for sure. He makes a lot of plays that a lot of guys wouldn't even think of doing. He's not a big guy, but he's strong and he's hard to knock off [the puck]. We needed someone to step up tonight, and he certainly did that."

Assist #4
The goal scorer: Alex Wennberg, center
The situation:The Devils tied the game, 3-3, with 20 seconds left in the second. They took back a lot of the momentum from the Jackets' three goals, and were looking to spin that into a strong third. Instead, Greene was called for tripping Dubois 20 seconds after the opening puck drop, which put Columbus on the power play.
The play:Panarin found himself in yet another position on the power play, which has struggled all season. This time, rather than a wing spot, he was right in the middle of the 1-3-1 setup. It allowed him to use a great backhand dish to Wennberg for the shot.
The skill:Panarin made sure the puck got through two Devils' defenders in the high slot, tapping it through to Oliver Bjorkstrand on the left wing. Bjorkstrand faked a shot, gave it back to Panarin, and he deftly made the pass to Wennberg. Panarin first skated toward Bjorkstrand, where the pass originated, before throwing a backhand feed the other direction to Wennberg in the right circle.
Panarin used patience, vision, hands and creativity for this one.
"He is a true pro," Tortorella said. "We move him in a different spot on the power play. This is the third spot we've put him on the power play, and all's he does is say, 'Yes,' I'm going to do the best I can. I'm impressed with him.

Assist #5
The goal scorer: Zach Werenski, defenseman
The situation:The Blue Jackets clung to a 4-3 lead midway through the third, while trying to kill a high-sticking double minor assessed to Markus Hannikainen. During the Devils' power play, they were called for too many men on the ice, which made it even strength again, 4-on-4.
The play:Wennberg won a face-off in the offensive zone, at the right dot. The puck came out to defenseman Seth Jones, who was under immediate pressure near the blue line. He gave it to Panarin, standing at the left point next to the wall, and watched the puck go back the other way to Werenski - courtesy of Panarin.
The skill: The skill level here was subtle, but no less impressive.
Again, patience with the puck played a major role. Panarin got it with defenders closing in on him, with nowhere to go, but his poise and vision allowed him to spot Werenski alone in the high slot. Werenski did the rest, scoring his ninth goal, which is best among all NHL defensemen.
"Me and [Jones] were joking on the bench, at the end of the game, how he came here and everyone kept saying he's this shooter and he shoots the puck - and he can shoot the puck unbelievable - but in our eyes, he's one of the best passers we've seen," Werenski said. "It's awesome to have a guy like that on our team. He's just taking more responsibility with the puck, and it's definitely helping our team."

Assist #6
The goal scorer: Josh Anderson, right wing
The situation:Less than 24 hours after polishing off their big win in New Jersey, a cannon blast welcomed the Blue Jackets back to their home ice. The puck was then dropped at Nationwide Arena, and 30 seconds later, the "Breadman" helped Anderson set off another cannon blast.
The play:The Coyotes won the opening draw, and worked the puck into the Columbus zone on the first shift of the game. Derek Stepan forced Jackets' goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to make a stick save off a spinning wrist shot, but the play quickly headed the other way off the rebound.
Dubois scooped the puck in the neutral zone, fed Anderson for a carry across the Arizona blue line and then headed for the net. Anderson gave it to Panarin on the right wing, drifted behind the net and soon got the puck back from Panarin along the wall.
Anderson did the rest, bringing it out from behind the net and beating Raanta to the far side from a sharp angle, over the glove.
The skill: Let's be honest. There wasn't a ton of skill used by Panarin to set up this goal. This was sort of like a reward assist for the five beauties he put on the Devils the night before. That said, it was a smart play by Panarin to quickly send the puck back toward Anderson below the goal line.
Panarin was under pressure and had to get rid of it, and who better to give it to than Anderson?
He scored his team-high 11th goal, which was also Panarin's team-high 19th assist and 26th point. Panarin now has 15 primary assists, which ties him with four other players for fifth-most in the NHL.
"After [Friday] night, you can just put him on the ice with anybody and he looks good," Anderson said, smiling. "[Saturday night], before the game, I was like, 'Why don't you share the puck a little bit more tonight?' So, he did that on the first shift, and we were happy about that."
Not a bad way to start weekend at all.