Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Poor showing in Vancouver
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Merzlikins stopped 12 of 16 shots in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Canucks. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.
Merzlikins has now lost two games in a row, and unlike Tuesday's 3-0 shutout loss in Calgary, this loss is firmly on his shoulders. The 30-year-old squandered a 2-0 lead after the first period as the Canucks rallied for the win. Merzlikins is down to 8-7-2 with a 3.07 GAA and an .889 save percentage through 17 appearances. The Blue Jackets' surprisingly stout offense has helped cover some of his flaws, but he remains among the low-end starting goalies in the league, though Daniil Tarasov has been outright awful in the backup role. The Blue Jackets' road trip ends with another tough matchup Sunday in Winnipeg.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Receiving starting nod
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Merzlikins will protect the road goal versus the Canucks on Friday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
This is the second half of a back-to-back -- Daniil Tarasov played Thursday in a 6-3 loss to the Oilers. Merzlikins has ran with the starting job lately, going 6-1-1 over his last eight outings, though he has a 2.98 GAA and an .892 save percentage in that span. The Canucks have scored 21 times over the last six games, winning four of them, though they have gone to overtime in three straight contests.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Gets no help in loss
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Merzlikins stopped 19 of 21 shots in Tuesday's 3-0 loss to the Flames. The third goal was an empty-netter.
Merzlikins played well in a close game, but the Flames got two power-play goals from defensemen. This was enough to hand Merzlikins his first regulation loss in eight outings. The 30-year-old netminder is down to 8-6-2 with a 3.00 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 16 starts. He'll likely split the Blue Jackets' upcoming back-to-back with Daniil Tarasov. That pair of games features tricky matchups against the Oilers on Thursday and the Canucks on Friday.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Drawing road start
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Merzlikins will tend twine against the Flames on Tuesday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site relays.
Merzlikins has won back-to-back games and is 6-0-1 over his last seven starts. This comes after the Latvian netminder won just two of his first eight appearances of the 2024-25 campaign. It'll be Merzlikins' second matchup against the Flames in four days -- the 30-year-old made 27 saves on 29 shots in a 5-2 win over Calgary on Friday. Merzlikins' opponent Tuesday ranks 28th in the league with 2.52 goals per game through 25 contests.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Stays hot with win in Chicago
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Merzlikins stopped 28 of 31 shots in Sunday's 6-3 win over the Blackhawks.
Merzlikins has gone 6-0-1 over his last seven games, and this was his sixth straight start for the Blue Jackets. It hasn't all been roses in that span -- he's provided a few thorny outings, allowing three or more goals in four of those six starts. Merzlikins is now 8-5-2 with a 3.07 GAA and an .894 save percentage through 15 games in 2024-25. The Blue Jackets' road trip heads further west for the rest of the week, with the next stop in Calgary on Tuesday. Merzlikins turned aside 27 of 29 shots in a 5-2 win over the Flames on Friday in Columbus.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Starting in Chicago
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Merzlikins will defend the road net versus the Blackhawks on Sunday, per Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site.
Merzlikins is coming off a 27-save performance in Friday's 5-2 victory over Calgary. He has won five of his last six outings, surrendering 19 goals on 170 shots. Merzlikins has a 7-5-2 record with one shutout, a 3.07 GAA and an .893 save percentage through 14 appearances this season. Chicago sits 30th in the league with 2.48 goals per game in 2024-25.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Fifth win in last six starts
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Merzlikins made 27 saves in a 5-2 win over Calgary on Friday.
Merzlikins has really picked up the Blue Jackets over the last two weeks. He is 5-0-1 in six starts, including wins over the Hurricanes, Lightning and Bruins. But Merzlikins has allowed 19 goals during that stretch, and his save percentage over that span is a murky .888. And after he lost his cool in Friday's game, he could be a few dollars lighter if the league levels supplemental discipline. Merzlikins took offense to MacKenzie Weegar digging at him in the crease, the netminder popped up throwing jabs with the his blocker on.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Set to start Friday
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Merzlikins is expected to start at home Friday versus Calgary, according to Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site.
Merzlikins has a 6-5-2 record, 3.15 GAA and .890 save percentage in 13 appearances this season. He's struggled recently, allowing at least four goals in each of his past three starts. Daniil Tarasov is unavailable due to an illness, so Jet Greaves, who was recalled from AHL Cleveland, will serve as the backup goaltender. Calgary has a solid 12-7-4 record, though the Flames have been underwhelming offensively, ranking 26th with 2.57 goals per game.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Set to start against Montreal
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Merzlikins will serve as the starting goaltender for Wednesday's home game against the Canadiens, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins has started in the Blue Jackets' last three games, posting a 3-0-0 record, 3.55 GAA and .884 save percentage during that time. While he's picked up some lucky wins over that stretch, he'll attempt to remain in the win column while facing the Canadiens, who have averaged 2.76 goals per game this season.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Beaten in OT
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Merzlikins allowed four goals on 23 shots in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Canadiens.
Merzlikins, who failed to hold a couple of one-goal leads, saw a four-game win streak snapped. The back-and-forth affair eventually ended when Nick Suzuki pounced on a rebound of a shot that the goalie was unable to squeeze. It was a third consecutive shaky performance for Merzlikins, who benefitted greatly from an offense that racked up 22 non-shootout goals during his win steak. Next up for Columbus is a Friday night home game against Calgary.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Escapes with shootout win
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Merzlikins stopped 32 of 36 shots in Saturday's 5-4 shootout win over the Hurricanes.
Merzlikins let three separate one-goal leads slip away, and Jackson Blake put the Hurricanes ahead 4-3 at 13:23 of the second period. That lead nearly lasted to the finish, but Kirill Marchenko saved the day by tying the game with 1:06 left in regulation. Merzlikins handled the rest, getting through overtime and stopping all three shootout attempts to earn his fourth straight win. In that span, he's been a little shaky with 13 goals allowed. The 30-year-old netminder improved to 6-5-1 with a 3.08 GAA and an .894 save percentage through 12 starts. He's the no-doubt starter for the Blue Jackets right now, and he'll likely get the nod for Wednesday's home game versus the Canadiens.
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Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Facing Hurricanes
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Merzlikins will be between the home pipes versus Carolina on Saturday, according to Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site.
Merzlikins has won three straight games to boost his record to 5-5-1. The 30-year-old has a 3.02 GAA and an .895 save percentage in 11 appearances this season. He will have a tough matchup versus a Carolina team that ranks third in the league with 3.89 goals per game.
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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.
