The Blue Jackets will open the season as jet setters with goalie Jet Greaves starting between the pipes Oct. 9 against the Nashville Predators.
Greaves, 24, gets the nod after a tight competition with Elvis Merzlikins throughout training camp. He’ll start the new season defending the Jackets’ net after concluding last season on a scorching tear as Merzlikins’ emergency replacement during the veteran’s concussion.
“Both goalies played really well through the preseason, so we certainly could’ve (gone) with Elvis tonight and then Jet (on Saturday) in Minnesota or vice-versa,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “That’s still our plan, but that may change. Both goaltenders are going to play. Because one guy starts tonight, it doesn’t mean that he’s our ‘starter.’ It’s just … Jet is starting tonight’s hockey game and we’ll go from there.”
Merzlikins is expected to start Oct. 11 at the Minnesota Wild, but no goaltending decisions have been made beyond the first two games. That means no starting goalie has been decided yet for the Blue Jackets’ home opener Oct. 13 against the New Jersey Devils.
Greaves went 1-1-0 with a 2.44 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in three preseason appearances. Merzlikins went 0-3-0 with a 2.88 GAA and .896 save percentage in his three appearances, two happening on the road.
Greaves is going into his first full NHL season after impressing in short stints with the Blue Jackets over the past three years. Greaves is 10-9-2 with a 2.62 GAA, .924 save percentage and two shutouts in 21 career NHL appearances, including 7-2-2 with a 1.91 GAA, .938 save percentage and the two shutouts last season.
“He’s definitely got a calm demeanor to him that just settles things down,” Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said. “There’s not many scrambles with him. He seems to cover it, and we get a whistle or whatever it is, if we’re on our heels. I think his calmness helps him and helps the team.”
Jenner opens this season one goal shy of an impressive milestone that will put him in elite company within Blue Jackets franchise history. He’s one goal shy of 200 for his career, all scored with Columbus, and the captain will join Rick Nash and Cam Atkinson as the third player in franchise history to reach that mark.
Columbus Blue Jackets projected lineup vs Nashville Predators
Here is how the Blue Jackets are expected to look in Nashville to start the season:
Forwards
Dmitri Voronkov – Sean Monahan – Kirill Marchenko
Boone Jenner – Adam Fantilli – Cole Sillinger
Kent Johnson – Charlie Coyle – Mathieu Olivier
Zach Aston-Reese – Isac Lundestrom – Miles Wood
Defensemen
Zach Werenski – Dante Fabbro
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Denton Mateychuk – Erik Gudbranson
Goalies
Jet Greaves
Elvis Merzlikins
Extras: D Jake Christiansen, F Yegor Chinakhov
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social