Merzlikins stopped 25 of 28 shots in Thursday's 4-0 loss to the Golden Knights, with Vegas' final goal getting scored into an empty net.
Columbus' skaters couldn't solve Adin Hill in the other crease, giving Merzlikins no margin for error. The loss was the fourth straight for the 30-year-old, a stretch in which the streaky netminder has a 3.82 GAA and an .885 save percentage. The Blue Jackets are still clinging to the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but they might need Merzlikins to get hot over the final weeks of the regular season if they're going to close the deal.