Panarin's first taste of Columbus proves he's worthy of a toast

The Blue Jackets needed a dynamic forward.
They needed somebody who could take over games, strike fear in opponents and strap a team on his back for a journey through the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They already had a solid group of veterans, an elite goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky and a talented crop of youngsters.
They needed a gamebreaker, and got one in Artemi Panarin.
Players like Panarin, a.k.a. "The Breadman," are rare finds in the NHL. They're almost always drafted, rather than acquired through trades, and they cost a hefty price tag to pry away via trade.
The Blue Jackets paid that price by sending Brandon Saad - a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Chicago Blackhawks - back to the Windy City, while still in his prime, to headline a package that brought Panarin to Columbus.
Thus far, through Panarin's first 46 games wearing a Blue Jackets uniform, he hasn't disappointed. He's not scoring goals at the same clip he netted them in his first two NHL seasons with the Blackhawks, but he's right on his usual pace in assists.
Panarin has also shown flashes of the brilliance the Blue Jackets sought, and there's more ahead. "Bread" is still getting settled in Columbus, but he's already shown that when it comes to pure talent, he's smooth as butter.
Before Columbus restarts its season, following the bye, here's a look at some of Panarin's greatest moments as a Blue Jacket:

STARTING WITH A BANG
It didn't take long for the Blue Jackets to get a glimpse of what Panarin can do for a team.
He had three assists in his first home game at Nationwide Arena, helping Columbus shutout the New York Islanders, 5-0, Oct. 6 in the season-opener. Panarin's first two assists were primary helpers, and both showed his keen hockey sense.
He carried the puck to the net on the first one, toward the left post, before sending a pass that skipped off goalie Thomas Greiss' stick to Cam Atkinson. The puck hit Atkinson in the left skate and went into the net, giving the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead.
Panarin helped set the goal cannon off a third time with a feed from behind the net to defenseman Ryan Murray, who one-timed a shot past Greiss from the left face-off circle to make it 3-0. Just for good measure, Panarin got the second assist on a power-play goal by Zach Werenski for his third apple of the game.

ALL THE KING'S MEN
It was Friday, Oct. 13th at Nationwide Arena, and the game was tied, 1-1, between the Blue Jackets and New York Rangers. Panarin got the puck in the Columbus zone, and headed up ice with it, intent on putting his team in front.
He danced by a defender in the neutral zone, avoided poke check entering the Rangers' zone and then pulled the puck to the middle of the ice in front of defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.
His quick wrist shot beat Rangers' goalie Henrik Lundqvist to the short side to put Columbus up, 2-1, and the Blue Jackets finished it off for a 3-1 win.
Lundqvist, known as "The King," was dethroned by Panarin again.
Panarin entered that game with four goals and two assists in four career games against the Rangers, and Lundqvist was in net each game. That included Panarin's only NHL hat trick on Feb. 17, 2016 at Madison Square Garden.
This season, Panarin has scored a goal in all three games against the Rangers, all against Lundqvist. He now has seven goals, two assists and nine points in seven career games against New York's star goalie.
"I have a deal with Lundquist," Panarin said, jokingly, to Russian reporters after a 5-3 loss Nov. 6 in New York. "I score only when he plays in the [net]. I have to thank him for that …"

PRIMARY FOCUS
Columbus had just lost at home, 4-1, on Dec. 1 against the New Jersey Devils. It was a battle for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, and the Devils came out on top after controlling the initial meeting against the Blue Jackets this season.
Three days later, Panarin helped Columbus even the score. New Jersey scored twice in the first period Dec. 8 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., taking a 2-0 lead, but the Blue Jackets scored five of the next six goals in the game.
Panarin had primary assists on all five goals to tie franchise records for assists and points in one game.
"Me and [Seth 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.

'STEELING' A POINT IN PITTSBURGH
Things were not going well in the waning stages of the third period Dec. 21 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. After Panarin set up Pierre-Luc Dubois for the game's first goal, the Blue Jackets allowed two goals in the third period and trailed the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1, with 4:57 left to play.
Evgeny Malkin scored the go-ahead goal, at 15:03, off a 4-on-3 power play that followed Panarin triggering a rare face-off violation penalty. The Penguins were soon called for too many men on the ice, which gave Columbus a 4-on-3 power play, and Panarin capped it to tie the game.
His wrist shot from the above the right circle eluded a block attempt and sailed past a screen by Dubois in front of the net for Panarin's eighth goal of the season. More importantly it pushed the game past regulation and ensured the Blue Jackets got a point out the 3-2 shootout loss.

'BREAD' WAS HERE
It was just a simple skills-based practice in the Dallas suburb of Farmer's Branch, but Panarin left a mark on the practice rink there.
During a drill where a net was set up in the neutral zone, with players working on one-timer passes, Panarin shattered a pane of glass behind the net. His one-timer off a pass from Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno went over the crossbar and slammed into the glass.
It made a deafening noise, and a second later the entire pane crumbled, sending piles of glass spilling onto the ice and walkway in front of the metal stands.
Only a couple spectators were there, including a mom and her daughter there to see Bobrovsky. Once the glass shattered, a quick glance out to the ice caught Panarin glancing back with a smirk on his face. He flexed his arm and winked.
Send the bill to "The Breadman."
BURNING LEAFS
It was one of the best comeback victories in franchise history, and it was no surprise to see Panarin right in the middle of it.
The Blue Jackets trailed, 2-0, with less than five minutes left to play against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Monday at Air Canada Centre. They got late goals from Foligno and Dubois to tie it, 2-2, and then won the game in 3-on-3 overtime - improving their record to a 11-0-3 in 14 games that have needed longer than three periods to decide.
It was Panarin who scored the game-winner, after receiving a pass from Werenski near the front of the crease with his right skate kicking it forward, off his stick blade, into the net. The play withstood a video review, but Panarin's teammates already knew the outcome before it was announced.
"He was so confident that he hit it with his stick," Foligno said. "He told us all in the huddle that he hit it with his stick, so once you hear that you know it's a goal and you celebrate."

THE BACKHAND IN BUFFALO
It usually happens a couple times each game, when Panarin does something to remind you that he's a unique talent. In the Jackets' 3-1 loss to the Sabres last Thursday, it resulted in their only goal.
Just like the Toronto game, Columbus trailed, 2-0, late in the third period. They only got one goal in their second straight comeback effort, but what a goal it was.
Panarin got the puck on a power play, carried it up the right wing into the offensive zone and then decided to cut sharply to the inside, toward the net. A defender challenged him with a poke check, and he slipped the puck past him - skating around the check to grab the puck on the other side.
Once inside the lower half of the right faceoff circle, he shoveled a big backhand shot at the net. The puck went over goalie Linus Ullmark's glove and under the crossbar near the top right corner of the net, ripping into the net for his 12th goal of the season.
It wasn't enough for the win, but Panarin also hit the post twice in that game - and the crossbar, not long after scoring the Jackets' lone goal.
He was inches from a four-goal game which would've fit well on his Columbus highlight reel.
"He's a smart player, and that's what's been so impressive to me," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "It's not his skill and what he can do with the puck. It's the other side of the puck. He's a buck-seventy [170 pounds], a buck-seventy soaking wet, and he's probably one of our strongest guys on the puck. There are a number of people on our team that can really learn from him … that the will isn't a skill. That's a mindset. And he has a will."