SAN JOSE, Calif. — So much has been said about Nathan MacKinnon’s skating — his wide, powerful stride that leads to extraordinary speed — but perhaps the biggest advantage to his skating is his quickness and ability to unleash snapshots on the fly. MacKinnon’s quick wrister at full speed is difficult for goalies to read because his legs and arms disguise the shot coming off outside his right hip.
A snap shot is the abbreviated motion of a wrist shot.
“He dangles (stickhandles) so many times before he shoots it, it makes it more difficult to read,” Avs goalie Philipp Grubauer said Saturday, prior to Colorado playing host San Jose in Game 5 of its Western Conference semifinal playoff series.