At the beginning of the game, one goalie was prepared. Before he became hot, the other was on his way to the showers.
With three of their first four shots, including one that came just 21 seconds into the contest, the Montreal Canadiens took advantage of the early pressure on Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins, winning 3-0 in front of 21,105 spectators at Bell Centre.
Merzlikins made his shortest career start of 172 when he was taken from the game at 5:48.
It is becoming increasingly clear that one of the first issues the next general manager of the Blue Jackets will have to deal with is what to do with Merzlikins, whose contract ($5.4 million through 2026-27) makes it nearly difficult for him to be traded.
After the game, Merzlikins was not available for interviews with media in Montreal, and coach Pascal Vincent refrained from criticizing his goaltender, as he has done with players for the majority of the season.
Vincent explained, “You want to change the momentum there, which is why I pulled the goaltender.” You want to take immediate action, but I don’t think that’s on Elvis.
“It started with a turnover (goal). On the penalty kill, there was the second. In a systemic sense, the third one is all of us.
Across the rink, Cayden Primeau, the goalie for Montreal, was excellent. Making crucial stops, particularly early in the first period when the Blue Jackets still had hope of overturning a three-goal deficit, he finished with 41 saves for his second career shutout.
At Primeau, the Blue Jackets attempted 98 shots, setting a franchise record. Along with his 41 saves, he also stopped 34 shots, seven of which were stopped by former Columbus defenseman David Savard, and 23 shots that went wide.
The Jackets outshot Montreal 22-8 in the first period alone, but Primeau, who made one-on-one stops on Boone Jenner, Cole Sillinger, Dmitri Voronkov, and André Texier in just the opening 20 minutes of play, proved to be a formidable opponent.
The major stop came from Primeau, who lunged to his left to make a glove save, stopping Texier, who had pounced on a rebound off the rush and blasted the puck back to the net off his backhand.
The Blue Jackets were shut out for the fourth time in the current campaign.
Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski stated, “Their defense did a good job of letting their goaltender see the puck, and it’s hard to beat goalies when they can see it.” “We spent much of the game developing things in their end. On a certain night, though, when the puck just won’t go in.
The first shift of the game saw the Canadiens take a 1-0 lead.In the Blue Jackets zone, Jake Evans pounced on a turnover near the wall. He then centered a pass to Brendan Gallagher, who accelerated the puck past Merzlikins from the doorstep.
Montreal went on the power play at 2:56 of the first period after Blue Jackets fourth liner Mathieu Olivier got an offensive-zone penalty (hooking). It took them just 19 seconds to increase their lead to 2-0.From the right dot, Juraj Slafkovsky put a puck through Merzlikins.
At 5:48, Montreal’s Joshua Roy lined up in front of Merzlikins and made it 3-0 with a stickblade on an Arber Xhekaj point shot.
Vincent declared, “I in no way hold Elvis accountable.” “I don’t believe it’s his fault. All I wanted to do was shift the focus.
Daniil Tarasov provided outstanding relief for the Blue Jackets, stopping all 19 shots he faced in the game’s final 54:12.
With the puck, though, the Jackets accomplished everything but score. Eight of Werenski’s shots were on target. Jenner won 15 out of 22 faceoffs while playing 25:48, the second-most minutes in his career.
“I believed we were prepared,” Werenski remarked. Not the ideal beginning for us. Three short objectives. An NHL team cannot be spotted with three goals like that and still win.
Owing to injuries—some of which have persisted—and the Jack Roslovic trade deadline, the Blue Jackets’ roster was already significantly reduced.
However, things worsened on Tuesday after right winger Kirill Marchenko became ill, forcing the AHL Cleveland Monsters to summon Brendan Gaunce.
Then, in the first period, the Blue Jackets lost winger Yegor Chinakhov due to an upper-body injury (he did not return), and in the third period, Sean Kuraly, their fourth-line center, suffered an injury that was not reported.
There have not been many nights this season where the stink and stench of 2022-23 seemed to return. But that whiff was in the air on Tuesday, with the litany of injuries, the makeshift AHL lineup, and Merzlikins struggling mightily.
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