Friday Four: Panarin propelling Blue Jackets

Each Friday throughout the season Kevin Weekes will be bringing you his Friday Four. He will be blogging about four players, teams, plays, or trends that have caught his eye.

It took Panarin a while to adjust after he was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks on June 23. Panarin and forward Patrick Kane had great chemistry in Chicago the past two seasons. The Blue Jackets know Panarin has big-game ability, which is why they acquired him.
Columbus, tied with the Washington Capitals for the Metropolitan Division lead, has the best young defensive duo in the League in Zach Werenski and Seth Jones. Werenski, 20, had a goal and an assist on Thursday and has 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) this season following a third-place finish in Calder Trophy voting last season. Jones, 23, also scored Thursday and has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) this season. Plus, having Sergei Bobrovsky in goal doesn't hurt.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins got off to a slow start, but I thought that was to be expected after they played more hockey than anyone else during the past two seasons and won the Stanley Cup twice. However, at 16-14-3 and in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, things could get ugly.
General manager Jim Rutherford said this week he was not happy at all with the team and would make a decision soon whether to make a major trade. With the way things are going, that's a strong possibility. They've lost three straight following a 2-1 loss at the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. The loss of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, centers Matt Cullen and Nick Bonino and defenseman Trevor Daley during the offseason has hurt them.
The good news is, there's enough time to turn it around and they do have centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and forward Phil Kessel. They don't have to win the division; they can finish fifth and likely still get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and all that matters is you get in. Anything can happen after that.

Minnesota Wild

With the news goaltender that Devan Dubnyk will be out week to week with a lower-body injury, backup Alex Stalock had a chance to step up and did just that on Thursday. Stalock made 28 saves in a 2-0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and has won his past three starts. He isn't going to be Dubnyk and won't play well every night, but it'll be on the Wild to play well in front of him.
The Wild have won four straight. Center Eric Staal, with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) and forward Jason Zucker, with 25 (14 goals, 11 assists) lead the way, with forward Mikael Granlund, who missed five games with a lower-body injury, third with 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists). Minnesota ranks in the middle of the pack in the League in goals for (2.87, tied for 16th) and goals against per game (2.80, tied for 10th lowest), so it's great to see the Wild getting as many wins as they have when they're not close to playing as well as they can.

Dallas Stars

After some offseason moves, including acquiring goaltender Ben Bishop and forward Alexander Radulov, added to a roster with forward Jamie Benn, center Tyler Seguin and defenseman John Klingberg, the Stars appeared headed for a rebound after a disappointing 2016-17. However, they started off 1-3-0 this season and were barely above .500 before going 7-3-0 in their past 10 games.
Dallas began its four-game road trip with a 2-1 shootout win at the New York Rangers on Monday and a 5-2 win at the New York Islanders on Wednesday. They play at the New Jersey Devils on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-SW, NHL.TV) and at the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Backup goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who will make his third straight start on Friday, has allowed two goals or fewer in his past five games and has been more consistent than Bishop. Coaches usually go with the hot hand, and right now, that's Lehtonen. He got his 300th NHL win against the Islanders on Wednesday, which is no small feat.

HONORABLE MENTION
Congrats to my former Rangers teammate Henrik Lundqvist on his 20,000th save. He's one of 15 in NHL history to do that and is well on his way to joining most of them in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day.
Center Kyle Turris has been a great fit with the Nashville Predators. He has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 16 games since he was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in a three-way trade on Nov. 5.