By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid

Of Andreas Athanasiou's 17 goals this season, approximately all of them have been of the highlight-reel variety. The latest came Sunday afternoon versus the Wild when Athanasiou took a stretch pass in overtime, broke in alone on Devan Dubnyk and turned the Vezina-contender into a pretzel to lift the Wings to a 3-2 win.

The 22-year-old speed demon has a way of making the marvelous look mundane -- so sifting through his goals is a bit like digging through a treasure chest. And narrowing them down to his five best? Almost impossible. But that won't stop us from trying.

Honorable Mention*

*Yeah, yeah, we're already cheating. 

Date: Oct. 22

Result: 3-0 win vs. Sharks

The Move: Streaking down the left wing, Athanasiou wires a slap shot over Martin Jones's helpless glove. No screen? No deflection? No problem.

Date: Jan. 5

Result: 4-0 win vs. Kings

The Move: Athanasiou's trademark, really: Take pass in stride, split defense, dangle goalie, celebrate. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Date: Jan. 10

Result: 4-3 loss (OT) vs. Blackhawks

The Move: Athanasiou finds some space in the left circle, receives a pass from Thomas Vanek and, in the blink of an eye, rifles a wrister into the top right corner. Post-and-in, to boot.

Date: Jan. 24

Result: 4-3 loss (OT) vs. Bruins

The Move: The Trademark.

Onto the finalists.

No. 5

Date: Oct. 25

Result: 4-2 win vs. Hurricanes

The Move: After receiving a pass at the top of the right circle, Athanasiou buys himself some time and space with a subtle shoulder hitch, walks in on Cam Ward and buries one top shelf. Patience, nerve and a heck of a wrist shot all rolled into one.

No. 4

Date: Nov. 8

Result: 3-2 win (SO) vs. Flyers

The Move: The Trademark. With a caveat: Look where Athanasiou receives this pass. The defense has plenty of time to close on him. They still can't.

No. 3

Date: March 26

Result: 3-2 win (OT) vs. Wild

The Move: Backhand, forehand, game-set-match. But really, Devan Dubnyk, what are you doing?

(By the way, Athanasiou's exploits are resonating with the league. Note the caption below.)

No. 2

Date: Feb. 9

Result: 6-3 loss vs. Capitals

The Move: Something new. Athanasiou circles the offensive zone with the puck on his backhand, sheds Alex Ovechkin with a nifty little pivot move and then snaps one past Braden Holtby on the short side for extra cheeky points.

No. 1

Date: Jan. 14

Result: 6-3 win vs. Penguins

The Move: Oh, you know. Just skate 200 feet through the entire team, embarrass the last defenseman and casually flip the puck over the netminder's glove for an immediate goal-of-the-year candidate. Nothing to see here.

Here it is again, with Pittsburgh's broadcast:

Among the aforementioned goals, you may have noticed a trend. When Athanasiou scores, the Red Wings fare pretty well.

It'd be a stretch to say the team goes as he goes, and there are other ways to measure a player's impact than goals and points. Still, the Wings are clearly better off when Athanasiou makes his presence felt. How, then, to harness that game-breaking talent?

Maybe it's as simple as not harnessing it at all.