Elvis Merzlikins needs to hit another level for the Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to be one of the best stories of the season, as they currently hold down the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with an 18-17-6 record after everyone had low expectations for the team in the wake of the tragic death of teammate Johnny Gaudreau.

One thing that’s been an even bigger surprise is the fact that the Blue Jackets are succeeding while their goalies are struggling. Elvis Merzlikins has an .887 save percentage, while Daniil Tarasov is all the way down at .857, and it makes you wonder how much Columbus could separate themselves from the playoff race in the East if they got even league average goaltending.

Carter Hutton joined Daily Faceoff Live for their Blue Paint segment, where they talked about Merzlikins and if he can hit another level to help the Blue Jackets’ playoff chances.

Carter Hutton: I think he has another level. Sometimes Elvis gets in his own way. We’ve seen him come out talk, about going through a trade, and I think what’s going to happen here, what I see is Dean Evason coming in and adding in some non-negotiables, something I like to talk about a lot with winning cultures and teams I’ve played on.

This team can score goals, but for Elvis, he needs to understand that he’s part of a cog in this lineup. There’s an upside to him, but again, you can’t be having him go in and play at an .887 if they wanna try to make a push to the playoffs.

It just shows you how weak that Eastern Conference is with seven teams that you consider playoff teams, and the rest from eight down to, other than the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Islanders, anyone can really be in that spot. So for Merzlikins, in his second half, he’s going to really have to show how he can be a number one and help this team get over the top.

You can watch the full episode here…