Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Bends but doesn't break in OT win
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Merzlikins made 24 saves in a 7-6 overtime win over Tampa Bay on Thursday.
The Bolts jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the 11:52 mark of the first period, but Merzlikins battened down the proverbial hatches and made a few keys saves to help ignite a Blue Jackets comeback. It wasn't a great ratio night for daily players, but Merzlikins has won three consecutive games. Overall, he's 5-5-1 with a 3.02 GAA, .895 save percentage and one shutout in 11 starts this season.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Draws home start
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Merzlikins will start Thursday's home game against the Lightning, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins has been effective across his last two starts, posting a 2-0-0 record, 1.50 GAA and .942 save percentage in games against the Penguins and Bruins. The 30-year-old will attempt to keep his momentum up Thursday but will face a tough test against the Lightning, who rank seventh in the league with 3.53 goals per game.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Sharp in Monday's win
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Merzlikins made 28 saves in Monday's 5-1 win over the Bruins.
He lost his shutout bid in the second period on a Boston power play, but Merzlikins otherwise gave the home squad no chance to mount a comeback after Columbus jumped out to an early lead. The 30-year-old netminder is showing flashes of the form he displayed early in his career but is still searching for consistency. Although Elvis has allowed two goals or less in five of his 10 starts, he's also surrendered four goals or more in four outings, leaving him with a 2.72 GAA and a .905 save percentage to go along with a 4-5-1 record.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: In goal Monday
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Merzlikins will get the starting nod on the road against Boston on Monday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins has won just once in his last five outings, posting a 1-3-1 record to go with a 3.60 GAA in that span. Historically, the Latvian backstop has put up decent numbers versus Boston, going 2-2-2 with a .924 save percentage and one shutout in six career matchups. Perhaps he can celebrate Latvian Independence Day with a victory.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Earns win Friday
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Merzlikins stopped 21 of 23 shots in Friday's 6-2 win over the Penguins.
Merzlikins snapped a four-game winless skid Friday with a solid performance between the pipes. He went 0-3-1 with a 3.99 GAA and a disappointing .872 save percentage before Friday's performance. Daniil Tarasov will face the Canadiens in Montreal on Saturday, which could lead to Merzlikins defending the crease in Monday's road matchup against Boston.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Facing Penguins
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Merzlikins will defend the home crease versus Pittsburgh on Friday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins is 2-5-1 with one shutout, a 3.03 GAA and an .896 save percentage this season for the lowly Blue Jackets. He has started six of the previous eight games ahead of Friday's tilt. The Penguins are averaging 2.72 goals, 21st in the NHL.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Can't sustain strong start
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Merzlikins allowed four goals on 32 shots in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Kraken. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.
Merzlikins took his fourth straight loss (0-3-1). He couldn't make a 2-0 lead after one period hold up, as the Kraken rallied for four goals in the middle frame. The 30-year-old netminder has given up 16 goals during his four-game skid, dropping to 2-5-1 with a 3.03 GAA and an .896 save percentage over eight appearances. The Blue Jackets have a back-to-back up next, with a home game versus the Penguins on Friday followed by a visit to Montreal on Saturday. Expect Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov to split those starts.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Facing Seattle
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Merzlikins will be between the pipes for Tuesday's road contest versus the Kraken, per Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site.
Merzlikins will make his eighth start of the season against a Seattle club that's put up 2.87 goals per game through 15 contests. The Latvian netminder is 0-2-1 over his last three appearances, and he's conceded 12 goals during that span. Prior to that three-game stretch, Merzlikins had allowed one goal combined over two games in back-to-back wins, so he makes for a risky play for fantasy managers due to his inconsistency.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Rough outing against Kings
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Merzlikins allowed four goals on 22 shots in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Kings. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.
Merzlikins has now lost three straight games (0-2-1), allowing 12 goals on 93 shots in that span. The 30-year-old netminder looked good at the tail of October, but he's still stuck playing behind a mediocre defense and doesn't exactly have a long history of personal success. He's now 2-4-1 with a 2.89 GAA and an .899 save percentage through seven starts this season. Look for Daniil Tarasov to draw the start Sunday in Anaheim before Merzlikins potentially reclaims the crease for Tuesday's road-trip finale versus the Kraken.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Tending twine Saturday
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Merzlikins will defend the visiting crease in LA on Saturday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins is off to a nice start this season, as he is 2-3-1 with a 2.69 GAA and a .910 save percentage. That is miles better than his previous two campaigns in which he combined for a 3.77 GAA and an .889 save percentage across 71 appearances. The Kings have averaged 3.27 goals this season.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Loses in overtime
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Merzlikins stopped 25 of 27 shots in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Sharks.
While the Blue Jackets controlled play, they had trouble solving Vitek Vanecek, leaving the game to be decided on an Alexander Wennberg tally in overtime. This was still a good bounce-back performance for Merzlikins, who allowed six goals on 44 shots in his previous start versus the Jets. The 30-year-old has done fairly well between the pipes this year with a 2-3-1 record, a 2.69 GAA and a .910 save percentage over six starts. Both Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov are likely to start one of the next two games, as the Blue Jackets have a back-to-back this weekend with stops in Los Angeles on Saturday and Anaheim on Sunday.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: In blue paint Tuesday
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Merzlikins will be in net for Tuesday's road matchup with San Jose, according to Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site.
Merzlikins had his worst performance of the 2024-25 campaign Friday -- he allowed six goals on 44 shots in a loss to Winnipeg. Through five appearances, the Latvian netminder is up to a 2-3-0 record, .907 save percentage and 2.86 GAA. The Sharks sit 28th in the NHL with 2.46 goals per game over 13 contests.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Can't handle Jets
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Merzlikins stopped 38 of 44 shots in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Jets.
While the Blue Jackets have proved some doubters wrong early on, the Jets' relentless offense was too much for Merzlikins to handle Friday. He had won his last two starts, including a shutout over the Islanders on Wednesday. The 30-year-old is now 2-3-0 with a 2.86 GAA and a .907 save percentage over five starts this season. Merzlikins will likely get Saturday off with Daniil Tarasov expected to start on the road against the Capitals. Merzlikins is likely to start two of three games during the Blue Jackets' swing through California next week.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Between pipes Friday
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Merzlikins will tend the twine in Friday's home game against the Jets, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins is riding a two-game winning streak during which he has given up just one goal on 58 shots (.983 save percentage). While that streak does include a win over the Oilers, Friday's matchup will likely be the 30-year-old backstop's toughest test of the season, as he squares off with a Winnipeg team that is scoring a league-high 4.60 goals per game. With a back-to-back on the schedule, look for Daniil Tarasov to guard the cage on the road versus Washington on Saturday.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Blanks Isles on Wednesday
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Merzlikins made 26 saves in Wednesday's 2-0 win over the Islanders.
It's the first shutout of the season for Merzlikins, and after a few rough years the 30-year-old netminder may be slowly regaining his confidence while working behind the tighter defensive structure of new head coach Dean Evason. Merzlikins has won two straight starts, allowing just one goal on 58 shots, and he's building a case to break out of a timeshare with Daniil Tarasov and reclaim the No. 1 job for the Blue Jackets.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Set to start Wednesday
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Merzlikins is expected to start in Wednesday's home game against the Islanders, per Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers.
Merzlikins is getting the opportunity to start in consecutive games after stopping 31 of 32 shots en route to a 6-1 victory over Edmonton on Monday. He's in a good position to build off that recent success against the Islanders, who are tied for 30th offensively with just 2.33 goals per game. Merzlikins has a record of 1-2-0 with a 2.76 GAA and a .900 save percentage across three outings overall in 2024-25.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Collects first win of season
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Merzlikins made 31 saves in Monday's 6-1 win over the Oilers.
The 30-year-old goalie nearly came away with a shutout as well as his first win of the season, but Mattias Ekholm snuck home a power-play tally inside the final minute of the third period. It was Merzlikins' first action since Oct. 15, as Daniil Tarasov has taken over the top spot in the Columbus crease in the early going, but the duo could slip back into a timeshare if Elvis keeps performing well.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Tending twine Monday
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Merzlikins patrol the home crease Monday against Edmonton, per Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers.
Merzlikins' return to the crease will end Daniil Tarasov's streak of four consecutive starts. The 30-year-old Merzlikins has surrendered seven goals on 48 shots in two appearances this campaign. Edmonton is coming off a 3-2 overtime win over Detroit on Sunday.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Moves past injury
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Merzlikins is healthy after tending to a lower-body issue and will backup Daniil Tarasov against Toronto on Tuesday, according to Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site.
Merzlikins hasn't played since Oct. 15 against Florida, in which he allowed four goals on 22 shots in a 4-3 loss. The Latvian netminder is 0-2-0 with an .854 save percentage and a 3.68 GAA through two appearances. The 30-year-old's next chance to draw a start will come Saturday against Nashville.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Won't play Saturday
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Merzlikins (upper body) won't be in the lineup for Saturday's home game versus Minnesota, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins has a record of 0-2-0 with a 3.68 GAA and an .854 save percentage in two appearances in 2024-25. Daniil Tarasov is expected to start Saturday, while Jet Greaves will serve as the understudy.
