Merzlikins, 25, made his NHL debut on October 5 at Pittsburgh and is 0-1-2 with a 3.91 GAA and .882 SV% in four outings with the Blue Jackets in 2019-20. He made one appearance with Cleveland, stopping 28-of-30 shots in a 2-1 loss vs. the Laval Rocket on Friday. The Riga, Latvia native was selected by Columbus in the third round, 76th overall, at the 2014 NHL Draft. He posted a 105-79-7 record with a 2.68 GAA and .920 SV% in 210 career games with HC Lugano in the Swiss League (NLA) from 2013-19 and won the Jacques Plante Trophy as the league's Goaltender of the Year in 2015-16 and 2017-18.
Robinson, 24, has appeared in 14 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets, including 13 games a year ago. Signed by the club as a free agent following his senior year at Princeton University in the spring of 2018, he has picked up 15-14-29 and 21 penalty minutes in 59 career AHL games with Cleveland. This season, he has collected 3-2-5, six penalty minutes and is +2 in 14 games. He registered 39-28-67 and 74 penalty minutes in 138 games during his collegiate career and served as Princeton's captain during his senior season in 2017-18.
Nutivaara suffered an upper body injury in last Tuesday's game vs. Vegas and is listed as day-to-day. The 25-year-old blueliner has registered 16-37-53 with 28 penalty minutes and a +22 plus/minus rating in 217 career NHL games, including 2-0-2 and two penalty minutes in 10 outings this season.
Kivlenieks, 23, did not appear in a game with Columbus after being recalled on November 6. He has gone 5-1-1 with a 2.37 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in seven games with the Monsters this season. The Riga, Latvia native has posted a 23-26-6 record, 3.21 GAA, .889 SV% and two shutouts in 64 career AHL outings with Cleveland since making his professional debut in 2017-18.
The Blue Jackets return to action on Tuesday when they visit the Montreal Canadiens. Game time from Bell Centre is 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on FOX Sports Ohio and the FOX Sports Go app. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with the "Blue Jackets Live" pre-game show. The game will also be broadcast on the Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs Blue Jackets Radio Network, including flagship station Sports Radio 97.1 The Fan.
