With Columbus heading out on a three-game road trip that does not have a back-to-back, Merzlikins heads to Cleveland just to get some playing time. The 25-year-old is 0-1-2 with the Blue Jackets so far this season and will get some AHL starts before likely returning to the NHL next week. Matiss Kivlenieks comes up to take his spot as the backup goalie.
Merzlikins stopped all 19 shots that he faced after replacing Joonas Korpisalo in the Blue Jackets loss to the Oilers on Wednesday. Tonight will be Merzlikins' first start since October 18th and he comes in having allowed a combined 10 goals on 92 shots (.891 SV%) in three appearances this season. Even without Vladimir Tarasenko, the Blues present a difficult road test--there are better options than Merzlikins tonight.
With Joonas Korpisalo starting the season opener vs. Toronto, it sets Merzlikins up for a date with the Pittsburgh Penguins in his NHL debut. The Blue Jackets have high hopes for the 2014 third-round pick, who turned in a .921 SV% in two straight seasons while playing with Lugano of the Swiss-A League. He will have spot-start value this season, but this is a tough spot for him.
Merzlikins, 25, was selected by the Blue Jackets in the third-round back in 2014 but remained with Lugano in Switzerland, where he had a 2.44 GAA and .921 SV% in 43 games this season. Merzlikins represented Latvia at the World Championship, where he had a 2.78 GAA and .914 SV% in five games.
