As someone who has never played ice hockey, I think the most amazing/impressive/mind-blowing thing I see on a nightly basis are the forwards who set up shop in front of the net, and then casually redirect a screaming slapshot for a goal, like with Perry's second one last night. Is that somehow easier than it looks, because so many guys are masterful at it. I assume it requires elite hand-eye coordination and vision, as well as tons of practice.
I would stand there like a big goon, and on the one-in-a-million chance I actually touched the puck, I would probably just block it. Which brings me to part two of the question. How do you "redirect" the puck without "batting down" the puck? A tilt of the blade? A downward swiping motion? Both?