As the final seconds of Saturday’s Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game ticked off the clock and a Blue Jackets win was all but assured, the emotions of the moment took over for Elvis Merzlikins.
They came out in the form of an impromptu salute to the venue. As the 94,571 bone-chilled, windswept fans – or at least those left after a couple hours of being in the elements – in Ohio Stadium rose to their frozen feet and the puck went behind Merzlikins’ net, the goaltender gave the crowd a quick “O-H-I-O" salute.
It wasn’t planned, but it was very Elvis.
“I was trying to do it, but it’s hard to think how to do it and then the guy is coming at you,” he said with a laugh Monday. “It just came right out. It was emotions. It was really a big, emotional game. It was unreal. It seriously was unreal.”
So was Merzlikins’ performance. You could understand why he’d want to celebrate after the one of the biggest efforts of his NHL career, a 43-save performance that helped the Blue Jackets cap off an unforgettable day with a final cannon blast denoting a 5-3 victory over Detroit.
Seeking revenge after Thursday’s CBJ win in Detroit, the Red Wings fired from anywhere and everywhere, placing Merzlikins under duress from nearly the opening faceoff. They saved their best for last, putting 21 shots on goal in the third period and getting two through screens and behind Merzlikins to tie things up in the final minutes, only to see Justin Danforth’s goal with 2:17 to go serve as the difference.
Despite the barrage of shots and the two third-period goals allowed, Merzlikins stood tall throughout the contest, just the latest strong effort for the Latvian netminder who is now 13-5-2 and 2.82 GAA in his last 20 appearances.
“The calmness that Elvis has given us all year, forget about just tonight. Clearly, he was incredible tonight,” head coach Dean Evason said after the game. “He’s competed his (butt) off. We’ve talked about this many times this year already. His team-first mentality has been incredible. Obviously he stops the puck, but the way that he plays within the team structure is awesome.”
Perhaps the irony of Merzlikins’ performance is he said he very nearly wasn’t able to play. He and his wife Aleksandra are expecting their second child, and the goalie was a bit stressed that baby No. 2 would be on the way in the leadup to the Stadium Series game.
Personally, the event was circled on Merzlikins’ calendar as soon as it was announced a season ago, as much as for what it represents as the experience itself. Now in his sixth season with the Blue Jackets, Merzlikins has had his fair share of ups and downs in his tenure but has come to view Columbus as a second home, so he knew what it meant for the franchise and the city to host one of the NHL’s marquee events in Ohio Stadium.
“It was huge for me to win this game,” Merzlikins said. “I was waiting for this game for seriously a long, long time, and to me it was really important to win as well because I feel home here.
"I came here, I'm not going to say a kid, but a young guy. Now I have a family. I got married here. I had first kid, and then second one should pop out any day. I mean, I almost didn't make this game. I'm telling you that. That was stressful as well, but it was really important to win for this city."
There was little doubt Merzlikins would get the start as he’s become the Blue Jackets’ clear No. 1 between the pipes as the season has reached the stretch run. He’s on pace to potentially near his career-high mark of 59 appearances in 2021-22, making this a major bounceback season after injuries and the up-and-down nature of his game limited him to a combined 71 contests the past two years.
Goalies are always on a bit of an island given the nature of the position, but as Evason said, Merzlikins has impressed the first-year head coach with his embracing of the team concept. It was that way on Saturday, too, for a netminder who is often known for drawing energy from the fans’ support.
Of course, doing it in front of almost 95,000 fans was an entirely new thing for Merzlikins.
“I never had this experience,” Merzlikins said. “It was awesome, but it’s not my style. Usually when I come to the rink, I am focused, and here I wanted to enjoy every single moment. Like Dean said as well before the game, we are all grown men here and we are going to get ready for the game when the puck drops, so just enjoy this.
“Actually, way before that, I was talking to Sean (Kuraly) and I said, ‘I feel pretty nervous, you know? It’s a big thing going on now. There’s so many people.’ Everything that they organized, it was perfect, you just feel shaky a little bit. You know that there is a game to play, and at that time, I just tried to enjoy that and right before the game, just got that focus back on.”
The blustery, chilly conditions weren’t always easy, though, and that’s where the goalie delivered a classic Merzlikins line. When asked about how he dealt with the cold and wind on the outdoor stage, he made a joke about his occasional troubles catching the puck.
“Well, honestly today I played with two blockers,” he said. “I wasn’t really happy with my catcher today, but by the third period I figured out what was the issue. The catcher on the heater was soft, then after like five minutes being out there on the ice, it was getting crispy and cold and I couldn’t really close the catcher.
“Second period, being in the other net, you feel a little bit different the wind blowing, which was interesting. You get in your position and you just feel your catcher and blocker swing away. It was a little bit weird, but you get used to it pretty quick.”
