The Blackhawks' Artemi Panarin has made a living in the NHL thanks in part to his booming one-time shot.
Panarin sets himself up from the left circle and the Hawks know to get Panarin the puck on that shot if he is open. It is one of the most effective shots in the NHL. Panarin has eight slap-shot goals, which leads the league.
But Panarin confessed something about his one-timers on Thursday _ he often doesn't know where they are going when he shoots them.
"It depends on how the pass is given _ if the puck is faster or wobbly, I don't really have time to aim so I just shoot," Panarin said through a translator. "If it's more straight and slower I aim."
Panarin said there is a "small chance" that he gets a perfect pass to set up a one-timer. Every other time he is aiming just to get the shot on net. If the pass is coming from the opposite wing, the idea is to get the puck into the net before the goaltender can slide over.
Panarin usually ends his one-timers on one knee. It's an aesthetic Panarin said is an accident.
"I don't know why, but it always happens like that," Panarin said.
It's a shot that has made Panarin a rich man and helped him secure a two-year, $12 million extension from the Hawks. Panarin said he was glad to have the deal done.
"Even though I didn't really want to, I had to think about it in the back of my mind," Panarin said. "I didn't really play worse because of that, but still it feels better to have something (done)."
Although Panarin did lose a little money on Wednesday to a teammate when Russia fell to the U.S. in the World Junior Championships.
"I lost $500 to (Patrick) Kane because we lost to them. He's $500 richer," Panarin said.
