Puckstopshere Kukla's Korner
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Panarin’s Zone Starts
Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks has an interesting usage. He is the player with the largest number of excess offensive zone starts. These are times he is on the ice for an offensive face off minus the times he is on the ice for a defensive zone faceoff. As a result of this preferable offensive usage, he is the ninth highest scorer in the NHL with 21 points.
This is an admission that Panarin has significant offensive value but limited defensive value. This ability can be maximized by playing him in offensive situations and not when it is a defensive situation. This usage has probably been worth a few points this season on Panarin's totals. This shows that while Panarin may be a top ten scorer in the NHL he has a ways to go to be a top ten player.