Merlikins had been having a historically bad season, with his 7-17-2 record, 4.10 GAA and .880 SV% and had left the Blue Jackets' to return to Latvia for personal reasons. The 28-year-old returned Wednesday resulting in Daniil Tarasov returning to Cleveland (AHL).
Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins will be away from the team temporarily. His grandmother is seriously ill and he has returned to Latvia to be with family. The 28-year-old has struggled all season, with his 7-17-2 record, 4.1 GAA and .880 SV%.
Merzlkins allowed four goals on 23 shots (.826 SV%) for his fifth loss in six starts as he was defeated by the Ottawa Senators last game. Merzlikins has been historically bad this season, with his 7-17-2 record, 4.15 GAA and .879 SV%. He takes on the Pittsburgh Penguins, who just snapped a four-game winning streak with a 4-1 loss to Florida last game.
Merzlikins stopped 38 of 41 shots (.927 SV%) to snap a three-game losing streak as he beat Buffalo in his previous start. The 28-year-old has been historically bad this season, with his .879 SV%, 4.10 GAA and 7-15-2 record. He will face the Seattle Kraken, who have won their last two games and are sixth in the NHL in goals per game (3.49).
Merzlikins allowed three goals on 44 shots (.932 SV%) for his third straight loss as he was defeated by Minnesota in his previous start. The 28-year-old has had a horrendous 2022-23 campaign, with his 6-15-2 record, 4.14 GAA and .876 SV%. He will face the Buffalo Sabres, who have won five of their last six games and are 2nd in the NHL in goals per game (3.78).
Merzlikins allowed three goals on 44 shots (.932 SV%) for his third straight loss as he was defeated by Minnesota in his previous start. The 28-year-old has had a horrendous 2022-23 campaign, with his 6-15-2 record, 4.14 GAA and .876 SV%. He will face the Buffalo Sabres, who have won five of their last six games and are 2nd in the NHL in goals per game (3.78).
Merzlikins stopped 26 of 29 shots (.897 SV%) to snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over the Toronto Maple Leaf's last start. The 28-year-old has a historically bad SV% this season, ranking bottom-five all-time with his .871 SV%, leading to his 6-14-0 record and 4.34 GAA. He will face the New Jersey Devils, who had a three-game winning streak snapped after a 3-2 shootout loss to Minnesota last game and are fourth in the NHL in shots per game (34.1).
Merzlikins allowed three goals on 33 shots (.909 SV%) for his fifth loss in six starts as he was defeated by the New York Rangers in his previous game. The 28-year-old has been one of the league's worst goaltenders, with his 5-12-0 record, 4.44 GAA and .869 SV%. He will face the Anaheim Ducks, who are in the middle of a five-game losing skid after a 5-2 loss to Philadelphia last game.
Merzlikins allowed three goals on 33 shots (.909 SV%) for his fifth loss in six starts as he was defeated by the New York Rangers in his previous game. The 28-year-old has been one of the league's worst goaltenders, with his 5-12-0 record, 4.44 GAA and .869 SV%. He will face the Anaheim Ducks, who are in the middle of a five-game losing skid after a 5-2 loss to Philadelphia last game.
Merzlikins stopped 25 of 28 shots (.892 SV%) to snap a four-game losing streak as he defeated Detroit in his previous start. The 28-year-old has been one of the league's worst netminders this season, as shown by his 4.52 GAA, .867 SV% and 5-11-0 record. He will face the New York Rangers, who just lost 2-1 to Montreal on Sunday but are eighth in the NHL in shots per game (32.9).
Merzlikins' nightmarish 2022-23 season adds one more piece to the puzzle as the 28-year-old netminder is now considered day-to-day with a lingering illness. It has been rough goings for the goaltender who holds the league's worst SV% (.865 SV%) and GAA (4.62) so he will be hoping to return to the Blue Jackets' when he is over the illness.
Merlikins allowed one goal on only 19 shots (.947 SV%) but took the hard-luck loss for his third straight defeat as he was downed by Washington in his last start. The 28-year-old currently has the league's worst SV%, with his .865 SV%, and glaringly ugly 4.52 GAA to go along with his 4-10-0 record. He will be hoping for some more positive luck as he takes on Tampa Bay, who has lost their last two games but still rank sixth in the NHL in goals for per game (3.47).
Merlikins allowed one goal on only 19 shots (.947 SV%) but took the hard-luck loss for his third straight defeat as he was downed by Washington in his last start. The 28-year-old currently has the league's worst SV%, with his .865 SV%, and glaringly ugly 4.52 GAA to go along with his 4-10-0 record. He will be hoping for some more positive luck as he takes on Tampa Bay, who has lost their last two games but still rank sixth in the NHL in goals for per game (3.47).
