Chicago Blackhawks' Panarin rapidly frustrating goalies

It's fast. It's wicked. It's super sneaky.

Bottom line: It's a goalie's worst nightmare.

Yes, Artemi Panarin is developing quite the reputation around the league for having one of the most deadly accurate and difficult-to-stop shots in the NHL.

The way the puck explodes off his stick - whether on a one-timer off a feed from Patrick Kane during Tuesday's win in Pittsburgh or whether it sizzles to the net on a blink-and-you'll-miss-it wrist shot - it has teammates in awe and opposing goalies asking what exactly just flew by them.

"He snaps it," Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said after Wednesday's 3-1 win over Pittsburgh. "I think the deception of it can catch goalies. He's got some pace behind it, too. You put the two together and it's lethal."

Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury remarked Wednesday how Panarin really ticked him off after scoring 4 goals on him in two nights. And each one was a thing of beauty.

• The first was the aforementioned one-timer off a perfect feed from Kane. Wham - 1-0 Hawks.

• The second came in overtime, a wrister that spent about a tenth of a second in the net before ricocheting out. Boom - Hawks win, 3-2.

• The third (his first Wednesday) came as the Hawks ran circles around the Penguins for the hockey equivalent of a calendar year in the offensive zone. Panarin wheeled in and - zap - 1-0 Hawks.

• And for Panarin's final act, he took a loose puck just after an Artem Anisimov faceoff and before anyone knew what happened, he whizzed a shot past Fleury to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead with 11:04 to go in the game.

"We knew he was a special player right from the outset. Great puck control, great shot," Kane said. "Very focused on hockey and being successful, too. Couple big games by him, couple huge goals.

"I'm sure you'll see that more as his career goes on (with) the Blackhawks and (as he gets) even more accommodated here in the United States, … he'll become a better player.

"Sky's the limit for that kid."

The "kid" - as Kane often calls Panarin - will face off against another rookie phenom Friday night when Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres make their only appearance at the United Center this season.

Statistically, Panarin (with 38 points and 15 goals) is having a better season than Eichel (26 points, 13 goals), but who knows what their numbers would look like if the situations were reversed?

Considering he's 24 years old and has played 105 games in the KHL the last two seasons, Panarin doesn't particularly like to be referred to as a rookie. But in NHL terms, those are indeed the facts, and he is certainly the leading candidate for the Calder Trophy, given to the league's top first-year player.

Panarin is somewhat generously listed at 5-feet-11, 170 pounds, and before coming to the NHL he had a coach tell him he needed to eat more and go to the gym to gain weight.

"I was eating everything but the silverware on the plate," Panarin told us earlier in the season. "All my life I've kind of been fighting it. Now it's kind of at the point where I'm over it and I can play without (extra) weight.

"Those coaches that told me I couldn't play without the size, I wanted to prove a point that they were wrong."

Point proven, in spades.

One Hawk who had a good feeling Panarin would make a smooth transition to the NHL was Marian Hossa. The veteran winger had a chance to watch the world championships last year during a break in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and Panarin just popped off the screen.

"I watched a couple Russian games," Hossa said last month. "Usually I don't get blown away by a player, and that was one of the guys that I really got blown away (by) with his skill.

"He was the best player for Russia and when I heard he was coming here, I was really excited."

Just as Hawks fans are excited to see what comes next from yet another budding superstar wearing the red and black.