Let’s break down Nikita Kucherov’s magical shootout goal

The NHL shootout is over a decade old now. And it’s been in existence in hockey for longer than that. You’d think we’d run out of new tricks by now!

Nope. Watch what Nikita Kucherov did last night.

Cheeky, indeed.

As usual, there’s more than just one fake-out involved here. So let’s break these five seconds of hockey wizardry down, shall we?

This is the first step, but an important one. By approaching in the direction of his forehand, Kucherov can more easily let the puck glide off his stick and make the fake-out move that seals the deal.

I’m sure this trick is possible off the backhand, but with a higher degree of difficulty. That’s the next step, though. And the NHL is a league of copycats, so expect someone to try the backhand variation soon.

This is why I love this move so much: so many tiny nuances packed into about four seconds.

Watch Kucherov’s stick blade and then watch Lehner. When the GIF starts, Kucherov’s in a shooting position. Gun cocked and ready to fire. Then he makes a slight movement that indicates he’s about to pull the trigger. And based on the angle of his stick (flat on the ice) and body language, Lehner knows he’s going to shoot five-hole.

At least, he thinks he knows that.

This all happens in a fraction of a fraction of a second. Really makes you appreciate the reflexes and instincts of hockey players.

Everything Kucherov has done to this point is stuff Lehner has seen before. Including this little move right here. Player fakes a shot five-hole. Player waits for goalie to drop and then dekes to his forehand and shoots blocker-side. This script exists.

So when Kucherov drops his stick over the puck and in front of it, Lehner knows the next move: he’s going to slide the puck to the left and shoot. So Lehner begins to move.

But Kucherov’s plan is now in motion. The puck, gliding off his forehand, won’t be touched again by his stick. After the fake to the forehand, Kucherov’s role in this shot is over. He has to hope that Lehner’s five-hole opens up as he moves to block the shot that won’t materialize.

It’s certainly a risk. Look at the direction the puck is moving at the point the GIF above stops. At that point, Lehner is still down in the butterfly. He’ll stop the puck if he just ... doesn’t move.

Even though it happens in just a split second, I actually think a lot of NHL goalies would pick up on the fact that Kucherov’s stick completely passed over the still-moving puck. Try this move 10 times, and eight times I wouldn’t be writing about it the next morning.

For whatever reason, Lehner bit hard on the move.

Robin Lehner has yet to stop a shootout goal this year.

The sad fact about creative shootout goals is that they can’t be repeated soon after they work for the first time. Stamkos said Kucherov had practiced that move for awhile.

Whether it works or not, you only get one shot at something new in the shootout. Now goalies know to look for it.

But it’ll show up again. They always do. Peter Forsberg’s iconic shootout goal happened in 1994. Now you see it all the time.

“The Kucherov” will be back. For now, we can appreciate the heck out of its debut.