Merliainen was the first goalie off during Monday's morning skate, Canucks play-by-play announcer Brendan Batchelor reports, indicating that he'll draw the home start against the Flyers.
Merilainen has struggled to enter the win column early in the 2026-27 campaign, as he's gone 2-7-1 with a 3.52 GAA and .889 save percentage over his first 13 appearances of the regular season, including regulation losses in each of his last four outings. However, he'll draw a third consecutive start Monday and will have a favorable matchup against the Flyers, who have logged just 2.21 goals per game to begin the regular season, which is the second-worst mark in the league.