CBJ Today: Merzlikins will bounce back from Chicago misplays

Each weekday this season, BlueJackets.com will post CBJ Today, a look at news, notes, analysis and fun stuff from around the Blue Jackets world. It's everything you need to know if you're a fan going into the day.

Elvis Leaves The Building

Give Elvis Merzlikins credit. Even at a low moment -- and this was a low moment -- he still has a bit of a sense of humor.
The Blue Jackets goaltender met with the media after Sunday night's game in which his two misplays of the puck led to a pair of Chicago goals in the third period, with those tallies the difference makers in the game.
On the first, with the teams tied 1-1 and the game nearing the midway point of the third, Merzlikins went behind the net to play the puck. The puck stood on edge rather than lying flat and stuck to the boards, and Merzlikins chose to play it on his backhand rather than fire the puck on his forehand up the wall.
For a goalie the latter is a much more comfortable play, but for some reason the CBJ goalie tried to backhand it toward Seth Jones rather than play it along the dasher to Zach Werenski. CBJ fans know what happen next, as Pius Suter was the first player there, firing the puck back into the crease, where it went into the net off Merzlikins as the goalie tried to hustle back into position.
Merzlikins took responsibility for that miscue as well as his later one in his postgame press conference, but he also explained his thought process on the goal.
"Not going into excuses, but the luck wasn't on my side this time," he said. "The puck got stuck on the boards, and I shot it on the backhand, but we are not (as) good, goalies, on the backhand as players are so maybe I shouldn't shoot it on the backhand. I should shoot it on the forehand. I messed up."

Merzlikins said he felt a little trepidation going out to play the puck the next couple of chances but eventually did so, which led in part to the next Chicago goal. But that's life, and this is a much different Merzlikins than the one whose turnover late in a game at Winnipeg last season led to a loss as well as a meeting with John Tortorella in which the head coach told the goalie to try to stop forcing his impact on the game.
These misplays Sunday night ended up in the net, but playing the puck is one of the strengths of Merzlikins' game. And he has the mental fortitude to keep doing it even after the loss to the Blackhawks that he put squarely on his shoulders.
"I'm not a kid anymore," Merzlikins said. "I am mentally strong enough. The thing that I learned here in this league, you have to move on, good things or bad things. … I am going to keep going out of the net."

A Different Vibe

As I sat down to watch the Jackets' two games in Chicago over the weekend, I couldn't help be struck by how weird it was not to be there -- and how different things are without fans in the United Center.
Tortorella has talked all year about how difficult it is for players to get up for every game without fans in arenas. High-level hockey players are performers and want to be cheered for their efforts -- or greeted with sweet silence when they succeed away from home -- and that bit of juice just isn't there right now.
It was particularly noticeable in Chicago, which has developed a reputation over the past 15 years or so as one of the most electric buildings in the league. The "Madhouse on Madison" is always one of my favorite trips, partly because of the sheer massive size of the building (and the excellent press box snacks … and also because of what a great city Chicago is, but I digress) but also because the pregame national anthem is one of the most hair-raising traditions in hockey.
Before every game, Chicago fans rise to their feet and cheer throughout the anthem, which is always expertly performed by Jim Cornelison. Suffice it to say, by the "home of the brave," the vibe in the building is always at a fever pitch. But not this year.
"I told the coaches after the first period, we were talking in the room, it's probably the biggest drop-off that we've experienced so far," Tortorella said of the atmosphere. "You go in there as an away team and the anthem and everything … it's such a great building."
I can't wait until we get back to some sort of normalcy as far as this goes. I think everyone, including Tortorella, agrees.

What A Weekend

If you're a hockey fan, this was a pretty fun two-day stretch to follow on the ice.
Saturday night featured a full slate of games, many of which went to overtime. The excitement didn't stop there, though, as in a 15-minute span, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid all scored OT winners. It's hard to get much better than that from an entertainment standpoint, especially after McDavid had scored another of his patented ridiculous end-to-end goals earlier in the game.
Then last night, Edmonton's offensive attack continued to impress, with McDavid notching five points and Leon Draisaitl six assists -- one off an NHL record -- in an 8-5 win over Edmonton. (Yes, it is possible to score that many goals in a game.)
The hockey isn't quite the same this year, but it can still be fun to watch.