Andreas Athanasiou breaks down Penguins for goal of year candidate (Video)

Who’s the fastest player in the NHL?

Connor McDavid gets a lot of love in that debate, mostly because of the way he exhibits blazing speed while slashing through opposing defenses. But as Andreas Athanasiou of the Detroit Red Wings showed against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a spectacular goal on Saturday night, he very much belongs in that conversation – and might be the ultimate answer.

Check out Athanasiou breaking down the Penguins defense on his ninth goal of the season:

Oh, wow, that was gorgeous.

Athanasiou takes the puck behind his own net, motors to center ice – past Evgeni Malkin, who waves at him with his stick – and then into the Penguins zone. He had Justin Schultz and Carl Hagelin in front of him, and just slices through them like Morimoto cutting salmon sashimi, maintaining control of the puck.

Lest anyone think Athanasiou is all skate, no finish, he roofs it past Marc-Andre Fleury for the early goal of the year candidate.

That gave Detroit the lead, and the eventually earned a 6-3 win over the Penguins – snapping their three-game losing streak, and extending Pittsburgh’s losing streak to three.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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