Merzlikins will defend the home goal Wednesday versus the Red Wings, Blue Jackets team reporter Jeff Svoboda reports.
Merzlikins will make his third preseason start, and he'll likely go the distance in this contest. The Latvian enters his third NHL season projected to split goaltending duties with Joonas Korpisalo. Merzlikins was decent on a bad Blue Jackets team last year with a 2.77 GAA and a .916 save percentage.