Merzlikins stopped 36 of 38 shots and was named the second star of the game.
"It was tough. It was really tough. It's tough now... Even my wife before I left the house said 'dont (mess) it up,'" Merzlikins said of his number change after the game. "It was a big, big responsibility. I didn't want to embarrass the number."
"I'm going to be honest I slept really bad (last) night because I was really nervous. I knew I was going to be emotional. It was hard to focus. It was hard to dial in and be there in the moment, just at the blue line. When I saw the family coming out, I started crying," he said. "The guys, they knew how important this game was, and they worked their (tails) off."