Has Elvis Merzlikins begun to solve his woes?
Statistically, the worst goaltender in the league this season with a -24.1 GSAx (all situations) per Evolving-Hockey—last among all goalies—Merzlikins' struggles have come during a period in which he was supposed to take the next step.
At least that was the plan.
Worst GAA among goalies with at least 10 games played:
— CapFriendly Depth Charts (@CF_DepthCharts) February 17, 2023
1. Elvis Merzlikins - 4.28
2. John Gibson - 4.05
3. Petr Mrazek - 4.00
4. Spencer Martin - 3.99
5. Thatcher Demko - 3.93
6. Cal Petersen - 3.75
7. Anthony Stolarz - 3.73
8. Kaapo Kahkonen - 3.62
9. Felix Sandstrom - 3.52
Both in terms of where you'd expect the four-year NHLer to be, coupled with being in year one of a five-year extension signed before last season.
Head coach Brad Larsen started Merzlikins in nearly every game down the stretch in the final month of last season in order to help his goalie prep for the physical and mental grind of what playoff-stretch hockey would feel like, ideally, in the not-so-distant future for the Blue Jackets.
In the current season, Merzlikins is 6-15-0 with a 4.28 GAA and .873 SV%. That's not going to get it done.
Merzlikins has allowed at least three goals in every start except one; a 1-0 loss at Capital One Arena on Jan. 8 against the Washington Capitals in which he made 18 saves, by far Merzlikins’ best start this season. The game was a testament to not just how well he played, but the great support from his defense in front.
Not taking any credit away from Merzlikins. He played well and he needed that kind of performance. That outing provided a quick snapshot of the play we've seen from him in the past. And that loss came three days after a 6-2 loss to the Capitals on Jan. 5 at Nationwide Arena, a game he also started and even acknowledged a lack of confidence.
Merzlikins also started a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 15 in which he only allowed two goals but didn't finish the game due to injury.
In recent outings, it does feel like Merzlikins' game has begun to turn around, or at least stabilize a bit.
Over his last three games in the past few weeks, he's allowed exactly three goals in each of them and is 1-2-0 with a .902 SV% and 3.05 GAA against the Seattle Kraken, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New Jersey Devils in that span.
Against New Jersey on Tuesday, the game seemed destined for overtime before a goal at 19:58 by Ryan Graves made its way through to seal the Columbus loss.
There is quite a bit to unpack during the scoring sequence to end the game, from the play of the team in front to Merzlikins’ positioning.
RYAN GRAVES WITH 1.4 SECONDS LEFT FOR THE DUB pic.twitter.com/znw6w95ccz
— NHL (@NHL) February 15, 2023
But overall, Merzlikins has been better of late. On Hockey & Hounds with Rothman & Ice on Wednesday, Larsen weighed in on Merzlikins beginning to settle in at 4:56:
First of all, your goalie's got to be your best player most nights. (Merzlikins) is finding his groove again. (Joonas Korpisalo) has been pretty consistent for us all year in that category.
(Merzlikins) has strung together some good games here. And some real good games even back before the break. So his game's been coming.
I know he's working extremely hard with (goaltender coach Manny Legace). They do a ton of video work on positioning and all those things. I think he's settled in almost between his ears a little bit.
He doesn't seem to be flailing around or losing his stick. He looks a lot more under control to me and a lot more square to puck. His game is coming and that's a great sign for us.
The full 12:50 interview also goes into the Blue Jackets' competitive play of late including a hard-fought loss against the Devils, veteran leadership setting the tone, and the Vladislav Gavrikov trade rumors.
Today, Larsen elaborated on a difference in mindset for Merzlikins:
I think there's been a lot of growth for (Merzlikins) this year. You can learn a lot about yourself in these seasons when it's not going nearly as well as you hoped it would go.
You talk about growth with a team. You talk about growth individually and through an organization. How you handle (adversity) can really help you in the future because you're going to have other moments like this even when you're on good teams.
If you can pull from these experiences and maybe recognize situations where you didn't handle it so well and you learn from that. Maybe that shortens your stint where it's not going as well and you plug that dam a lot quicker.
I think there's a lot of growth there and I think for the most part, he's handled it very well in a trying year.
Coming off an impressive win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday in which Joonas Korpisalo started and won his ninth game, the battle against the Western Conference continues with Columbus in Dallas on Saturday to face the Stars before traveling to Arizona on Sunday to play the Coyotes.
It'll be interesting to see how Merzlikins fares in net for the rest of the season and whether Korpisalo's strong play this year and down the stretch will fetch any possible trade suitors.
