Merzlikins shines in Columbus Blue Jackets' rebound win over Ottawa Senators: 3 takeaways
They started slow, were outshot by a ton and neither of those things mattered for the Blue Jackets on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.
Despite giving up the game’s first two goals and getting outshot 43-23, the Jackets rebounded from a loss Wednesday with four unanswered goals and an outstanding goaltending performance by Elvis Merzlikins in a 4-2 victory for their fourth win in the past six games.
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"What we wanted to do was learn from the last game," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. "We had a few things in place that we wanted to get better at, and the guys accepted the challenge. We just stayed in the game. Elvis was outstanding tonight. Without Elvis, I'm not sure we see the same final score and that gave us a boost."
Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk staked the Senators to a 2-0 lead in the game’s first 11:08, capitalizing on the Blue Jackets taking three stick penalties in the game's first 11 minutes. Tkachuk's goal capped a power play that followed the final one, a slashing call on rookie center Adam Fantilli.
Late in the first, the pushback arrived and led to four unanswered goals by Patrik Laine, Dmitri Voronkov, Fantilli and captain Boone Jenner to surge ahead in the second. Laine and Voronkov scored 43 seconds apart late in the first to tie it 2-2. Fantilli and Jenner scored less than three minutes apart in the second to build a 4-2 edge starting the third. Laine and Jenner capped power plays to give the Blue Jackets a 2 for 2 showing on the man-advantage and Merzlikins shined with 16 saves in the third.
"We had a couple (penalty kills) and we stick together," Merzlikins said. "We are not giving up here. We were 2-0 down. If that would be last year, that would be ending up probably 6-0 because we would give up. Here, right now, nobody's giving up. Everybody's trying to work hard, and the result comes."
Here are three takeaways:
Elvis Merzlikins’ rebound season continues in Columbus Blue Jackets win
This is too far into the season to consider what Merzlikins has done thus far a fluke or just a hot stretch. The Blue Jackets’ top goalie has steadily built himself back up into the form that led to him signing a five-year, $27 million contract that’s now in its second year.
Merzlikins, 29, put in a lot of work in the offseason that’s now paying off, including work to improve his stamina, mental skills and positioning in net. Part of his regimen includes meditation exercises while sitting in frigid cold ice baths for physical recovery from demanding workouts.
New goaltending coach Niklas Backstrom has also played a role.
“He’s good mentally, I think,” Merzlikins said. “He’s a great coach mentally for me. He’s really helpful there and mostly I have freedom. I am more relaxed. I know where I feel bad, in what situations of the games, so I tell him and then we work on that. That, for now, seems to work pretty good.”
As for his improved positioning and ability to soak up more shots, Merzlikins took credit for that improvement.
“That has, honestly, nothing to do with the goalie coach,” he said. “That’s me. I just changed things. I worked really hard this summer and the work that I did is paying me back. It has nothing to do with the coaching because during the summer there was no coaching. I mean, I didn’t even have a goalie coach during the summer. I’m happy for how things are going right now.”
Statistically speaking, they’re going quite well.
This was Merzlikins’ second outing with 40-plus saves and this one improved his primary numbers to a 3.04 goals-against average and .911 save percentage. Over his past five appearances, he’s 3-2-0 with a 2.42 GAA and blistering .937 save percentage.
“Every year is a new year,” Vincent said. “The organization saw a potential in him. He’s so talented. He’s a guy that’s intense. He’s emotionally involved in the game and his hockey reads are really good. He competes hard. He’s a real good goalie.”
He also gave Backstrom his due.
“I don’t want to go back in the past,” Vincent said, “but all I can see is what’s happening this year and the results, and Nik Backstrom has a huge impact on Elvis.”
Dmitri Voronkov makes presence felt at center for Columbus Blue Jackets
Voronkov’s first crack at center in the NHL was short and eventful.
He didn’t play a ton, just 8:56 on 14 shifts, but the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Russian scored his fifth goal to pull the Blue Jackets even at 2-2 late in the first and drew Tkachuk’s undivided attention in the second. The two mammoth forwards came together for a verbal exchange late in the period, which had to be interesting since Voronkov doesn’t speak much, if any, English.
“There’s no fear in him,” Vincent said. “Zero fear. “I don’t know why Tkachuk was running after him at some point, but he has a presence on the ice. He’s not fun to play against because he can be physical, he can score some goals, he’s got good hands, he goes to the net, he plays in hard areas, and he plays the right way. He’s a big man and he brings a certain level of physicality to our team.”
Voronkov has five goals, seven assists and 12 points in his first 19 games, and he also won five of his 10 faceoffs against Ottawa — one of the NHL’s better faceoff teams.
Joonas Korpisalo tormented, feted in first game against Columbus Blue Jackets
A little past the midway point in the first period, Korpisalo was honored with a video montage on the scoreboard above the ice.
It was a nice tribute for a goalie who spent the first eight years of his NHL career with the Blue Jackets before getting being dealt to the Los Angeles Kings along with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov at last season’s trade deadline.
Welcome back, Korpi💙 pic.twitter.com/J03MIQIpto
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 2, 2023
It took a loud ovation to get a reaction out of Korpisalo, who watched the video from his net, but he eventually complied by raising his stick. It was the high point of the night for Korpisalo, who took the loss while allowing four goals on 23 shots.
Down at the other end of the ice, Merzlikins was just excited to see his friend again. The two are the same age and became close while handling the Jackets’ top goaltending roles the past four years.
“He’s a great person,” Merzlikins said. “He’s a great friend for me. I’ve known him since I got drafted. We (roomed) together in development camp, I remember, from Day 1 when I was here. I was really happy to see him. In warmups, I wanted to go give him a hug because I seriously miss him, but then I was like, ‘Nah, maybe it’s not appropriate and I need to focus.’ But it was fun to play his one.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets topple Senators in Korpisalo's return: 3 takeaways
