Elvis Merzlikins trying to 'find the positive' while struggling for Columbus Blue Jackets

brian hedger, the columbus dispatch

Tue, Jan 10, 2023, 6:23 PM·4 min read

Jan 5, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) hangs his head after the Washington Capitals scored their fourth goal during the second period of the NHL game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Washington Capitals on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Scheller-The Columbus Dispatch

Elvis Merzlikins is a broken goalie.

He is determined to “find the positive,” but it isn’t easy for the Blue Jackets netminder. His confidence is shaken, there’s been zero ‘puck luck’ on key bounces, and Merzlikins’ season thus far is a big bucket of ballooning statistics, nagging injuries and frustrating health woes, including a fourth bout with COVID-19 that recently gave him a scare.

“This year, overall, it’s a huge life lesson for me, I feel,” Merzlikins said after making 18 saves in the Jackets’ 1-0 loss Sunday at the Washington Capitals. “This is what I’m living. Inside, it’s disgusting. Trust me. The feeling is not nice.”

Simply put, it’s the worst he’s ever felt as a professional player.

“It’s probably … not ‘probably,’ I’m going to take out the ‘probably,’ " Merzlikins said. “This is the worst season of my career up until now.”

Dec 11, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, United States; Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) sprays his bottle into his face after making a save during the second period of the NHL hockey game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Los Angeles Kings at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Scheller-The Columbus Dispatch

Especially galling is how much work he put into preparing for this year. Merzlikins and his family stayed in Columbus last summer for him to train and for them to become more familiar with the area. It was supposed to be a launching pad after signing a five-year contract that carries a $5.4 million charge against the NHL’s salary cap, but that's not how it played out.

Merzlikins, 28, has a 4.52 goals-against average and .865 save percentage through 16 appearances, and those unsightly numbers are actually the improved totals after Sunday's game in Washington.

“I wanted to be the difference and I wanted to bring the team as far as I could, and it happened opposite,” he said. “There is nothing to hide. I (stunk) at my job. I legit (stunk). And then, again, injury, sickness, injury, sickness, COVID again … Like, it’s still a thing. Now, the most important thing the rest of the season is to get that focus (back).”

Merzlikins’ words were as raw as the emotions that accompanied them. He’s a goalie who could probably use a hug, but instead, he’s pummeling himself like Jim Carey’s character in the movie “Liar, Liar,” a truth-twisting attorney who suddenly can’t tell a lie.

Merzlikins and his family have also dealt with unsettling taunts and heckles at Nationwide Arena, including what his wife, Aleksandra, described on Instagram as threats of violence. Merzlikins was incensed, but he’s not skating away from blame.

Nobody’s a harsher critic than the guy in the mirror, which showed against the Capitals.

Merzlikins allowed the only goal 2:43 in, beaten through the pads by another unlucky bounce, and that was the only puck to elude him. He also made a difficult “split” save in the first period to keep it 1-0, which coach Brad Larsen credited for sparking the turnaround that led to the Blue Jackets outshooting Washington 37-19 for the game.

Merzlikins didn’t want praise for it and told Larsen that when the two spoke near the bench in the first period.

“He told me that I (made) a huge save, and I told him that I didn’t care … I didn’t care,” Merzlikins said. “I was mad. I wasn’t there. Mentally, I was trying to be there, but it wasn’t working. Then it started working (at 10 minutes) and I was happy.”

Jan 5, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) blocks a goal attempt by Washington Capitals center Aliaksei Protas (59) during the second period of the NHL game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Washington Capitals on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Scheller-The Columbus Dispatch

The trick now is finding that happy place more often.

The Blue Jackets have other goaltending options with Joonas Korpisalo and Daniil Tarasov, but the former is a pending free agent and the latter is a rookie who is out with concussion symptoms. Merzlikins needs to work through his slump and reassert himself as the No. 1 ace he showed the potential to be as a rookie in 2019-20. It’s a tall order, but not unreachable, especially if his teammates continue playing as they did in Washington.

“We were really good in front of him (against the Capitals),” Larsen said. “It was a good game to have in front of him, a game he needed.”

Merzlikins also needs a confidence boost, which is strange to say given his unflappable personality.

“I’m always the one guy who’s going to blame myself first,” he said. “This is like my mom told me, in this disgusting and negative situation, there is something positive. Just find it. And I’m trying to (find) that positive and follow the words of my mom.”

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger