Elvis Merzlikins - Heartbreaking OT loss Merzlikins made 27 saves in Thursday's 1-0 overtime loss to the Panthers. Impact With the Blue Jackets' playoff hopes fading, Merzlikins returned to the team after attending to a personal matter and stood on his head in a goaltending duel with former Columbus star Sergei Bobrovsky. There wasn't much Elvis could do on Aleksander Barkov's power-play tally just 29 seconds into OT, however. Merzlikins is 0-4-1 over his last five starts, a stretch in which he's posted a 3.24 GAA and .899 save percentage, and the erratic netminder will need to deliver more performances like Thursday's if the Jackets are going to close the gap on the Canadiens, and leapfrog the Rangers and Islanders, for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
MARCH 21 • ROTOWIRE
