Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Cruises to fourth win
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Merzlikins turned aside 33 shots in Wednesday's 7-3 win over Chicago.
While he lost focus a little bit in the third period after Columbus had built a 7-1 lead, Merzlikins was sharp for two periods and gave the visitors no hint of momentum toward a comeback. The win snapped a five-start losing streak in which the 29-year-old had gone 0-4-1 with a 3.76 GAA, and while Merzlikins is playing better than he did in 2022-23, he has yet to lock into the form that made the Blue Jackets believe he could be Sergei Bobrovsky's replacement as the team's franchise goalie. On the season, Elvis is 4-6-3 with a 3.28 GAA and .899 save percentage.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Between pipes Wednesday
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Merzlikins will tend the twine at home versus the Blackhawks on Wednesday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins hasn't secured a win in his last six appearances, posting an 0-4-1 record and a 3.76 GAA over that stretch. Despite his slump, the 29-year-old Latvian continues to see the majority of the starts ahead of Spencer Martin, who is mired in a five-game losing streak of his own. Given the struggling team around him -- the Jackets are allowing the fifth most shots per game this season (32.7) -- Merzlikins figures to struggle to pick up wins this year.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Allows four in loss
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Merlikins stopped 22 of 26 shots in a 4-3 loss to the Capitals on Saturday.
Merzlikins coughed up three goals in the second period before allowing the game-winning goal in the third. The Latvian goaltender has allowed at least three goals in each of his last five appearances while failing to pick up a win over that span. He drops to 3-6-3 with a 3.31 GAA and an .897 save percentage overall. Merzlikins will likely serve as the backup to Spencer Martin on Sunday against Philadelphia in the second half of a back-to-back.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Starting versus Washington
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Merzlikins will patrol the visiting crease versus Washington on Saturday, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.
Merzlikins is 3-5-3 with a 3.24 GAA and .901 save percentage this season. He has lost his last two starts, giving up seven goals on 72 shots. Merzlikins will face the Capitals, who sit 31st in NHL with only 2.36 goals per game this campaign.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Stunned by Coyotes
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Merzlikins made 29 saves in Thursday's 3-2 loss to Arizona.
The Coyotes scored twice in 28 seconds in the third period to break open a 1-1 tie, with the first goal coming on a power play while Merzlikins was screened, and the second coming after a turnover behind the Columbus net led to a Lawson Crouse one-timer from point-blank range. Merzlikins has just one win in his last nine appearances as the Blue Jackets once again have sunk to the bottom of the standings, going 1-4-3 with a 3.44 GAA and .895 save percentage over that stretch.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Exits ice first
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Merzlikins is expected to get the home start against Arizona on Thursday, as he was the first goaltender to leave the ice at morning practice, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins is 3-4-3 with a 3.24 GAA and a .901 save percentage this season. He struggled last year, going 7-18-2 with a 4.23 GAA and .876 save percentage. Merzlikins will take on the Coyotes, who are averaging 3.47 goals per game.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Can't stem tide against Penguins
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Merzlikins stopped 36 of 40 shots in Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the Penguins.
Pittsburgh's final goal was scored into an empty net. Merzlikins played well and made a number of big saves against the rest of the Pens to keep his team in the game, but he couldn't deny Sidney Crosby -- the future Hall of Famer scored on all three of his shots on the night. Merzlikins has a rough 1-3-3 record over his last eight appearances with a 3.48 GAA and an .893 save percentage, and while his performance has improved significantly since last season, Columbus' defensive play in front of him remains a work in progress.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Facing Pittsburgh
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Per Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff, Merzlikins was the first goalie off the ice at morning skate, putting him on track to protect the home goal against the Penguins on Tuesday.
Merzlikins played pretty well in his last start Sunday against the Rangers, stopping 37 of 40 shots, but he still came away with a loss in overtime due to insufficient goal support from his teammates. He'll try to get back in the win column in a home matchup with a surging Pittsburgh team that's won four straight games.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Gives up three goals Sunday
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Merzlikins allowed three goals on 40 shots in Sunday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Rangers.
Merzlikins backed up Spencer Martin in the last two games, but the Blue Jackets haven't been able to shake a losing skid. Their shootout loss Sunday was their fifth straight defeat. Merzlikins is down to 3-3-3 with a 3.15 GAA and a .901 save percentage through 10 outings this season. The Blue Jackets will return home for Tuesday's game versus the Penguins.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Back in net vs. Rangers
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Merzlikins will get the road start Saturday against the Rangers, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Spencer Martin had started Columbus' previous two games after Merzlikins allowed three goals on just 10 shots in his last appearance vs. Florida on Monday. Merzlikins is 3-3-2 with an .897 save percentage this season. He'll have a tough task against a Rangers team averaging 3.31 goals per game to start the campaign.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Yanked after allowing three goals
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Merzlikins allowed three goals on 11 shots before being pulled during Columbus' 5-4 overtime loss to Florida on Monday.
Merzlikins lasted just 6:09 of ice time before the Panthers chased him from the game. Columbus would go on to rally, so Merzlikins wasn't charged with the eventual loss. He's 3-3-2 with a 3.20 GAA and an .897 save percentage in nine contests this year. After that rough start, Spencer Martin, who replaced Merzlikins on Monday, might be in net for Thursday's home contest versus Dallas.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Starting in Florida
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Merzlikins will patrol the road crease during Monday's game versus the Panthers, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins played pretty well in his last start Saturday versus Washington, turning aside 25 of 27 shots, but he was still stuck with a loss due to a lack of goal support from his teammates. He'll try to earn his fourth win of the season in a road matchup with a Florida team that's averaging only 2.60 goals per game this campaign, 26th in the NHL.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: One of best on ice, but takes loss
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Merzlikins made 25 saves in a 2-1 loss to the Capitals on Saturday.
He stoned Tom Wilson on a penalty shot early, but Wilson beat him from the slot six minutes later when he chipped a bouncing puck off Merzlikins' shoulder and into the net. Sonny Milano pushed the score to 2-0 late in the first when he ripped the puck into an open net when Nick Jensen fired a shot-pass to him at the left post, freezing Merzlikins. The goalie's been solid this season, and his play was strong enough Saturday to earn the game's third star, but his 1-2-2 record with 15 goals allowed in his last five starts is a tough pill for fantasy managers to swallow.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Between pipes Saturday
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Per Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site, Merzlikins will defend the road goal versus Washington on Saturday.
Merzlikins is off to a good start this season, going 3-2-2 with a 2.97 GAA and .902 save percentage. That's a tremendous improvement over last season, when Merzlikins was 7-18-2 with a 4.23 GAA and .876 save percentage. Washington has only managed to score 17 goals in nine games this season, which ranks 31st in the league.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Starting Thursday
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Merzlikins will defend the home crease versus Tampa Bay on Thursday, according to Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site.
Merzlikins is having a much better 2023-24 campaign following a poor showing in 2022-23 as he is 2-2-2 with a 3.14 GAA and an .898 save percentage. He was awful last season, going 7-18-2 with a 4.23 GAA and an .876 save percentage. Merzlikins will face the Lightning, who are tied for eighth overall in scoring with 32 goals.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Taking on Dallas
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Merzlikins will guard the road cage Monday against Dallas, per Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch.
Merzlikins has gone to overtime in each of his past three outings, but he has lost the last two. He has a 2-1-2 record this season, having stopped 130 of 144 shots. The Stars have scored only 16 goals over six games this season.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Starting against Habs
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Merzlikins will guard the cage in Thursday's road clash with Montreal, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins has registered a 3.37 GAA and an .873 save percentage in his last two appearances. That's a far cry from his first two games in which he posted a 1.84 GAA while giving up a combined three goals on 60 shots. Injuries limited Merzlikins to just 30 games last season, a mark he should easily reach this year as long as he can stay healthy.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Downed by Ducks in OT
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Merzlikins turned aside 24 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Ducks.
The 29-year-old netminder came up with some big stops to help earn a point for the Blue Jackets, including a huge glove save on a Troy Terry breakaway early in OT, but Merzlikins couldn't deny Frank Vatrano just over a minute later. Merzlikins appears to be putting last season's disaster behind him thanks in large part to improved defensive play in front of him, and through his first four starts of 2023-24, he's posted an entirely respectable 2.69 GAA and .913 save percentage while going 2-1-1.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Facing Anaheim
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Merzlikins will defend the home net against Anaheim on Tuesday, according to Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site.
Merzlikins is coming off a 23-save effort in Saturday's 5-4 overtime win over Minnesota. He has won his past two contests after losing in Columbus' season opener despite a strong performance against Philadelphia. Merzlikins has stopped 81 of 88 shots during the 2023-24 campaign.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Working to banish last season
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Merzlikins made 24 saves in a 5-4 overtime win over Minnesota on Saturday.
Merzlikins was okay Saturday, but overall, he's been solid. He is 2-1-0 with a 2.61 GAA and .920 save percentage in three starts this season. Merzlikins is looking to banish all memories of 2022-23 (7-18-2; 4.23 GAA and .876 save percentage). So far, so good, but we need to see consistency over time before we brand him as a guy who is reliable enough to carry your squad.
