Elvis Merzlikins didn’t deserve the ending he was forced to swallow Nov. 2 at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
Despite stopping 36 of the first 37 shots he faced, the Blue Jackets’ goalie smashed his stick over the crossbar after the New York Islanders pulled off a dramatic late comeback in a 3-2 win on goals 29 seconds apart by rookie Matthew Schaefer and Simon Holmstrom.
New York tied it 2-2 with 1:07 left on Schaefer’s second goal of the game, which he scored with a shot from the right point during 6-on-5 with his own net empty for an extra skater. The puck deflected off Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski’s stick in the low slot and went under the crossbar.
Holmstrom scored the winner on the following shift, tapping a loose puck into the net after Anders Lee’s shot from a sharp angle slid through Merzlikins’ pads.
It was a gut-wrenching loss for Merzlikins and the Blue Jackets (7-5-0), who split a tough back-to-back on short rest after outlasting the St. Louis Blues, 3-2, on Nov. 1 at Nationwide Arena. Merzlikins was the reason the Islanders only led 1-0 after finishing the first period with an 18-3 edge in shots. He was fantastic all night, keeping the rested Islanders at one goal until the game’s last two minutes.
Miles Wood and Denton Mateychuk scored goals for the Blue Jackets, including the latter giving them a 2-1 lead with 7:50 left in the third. The Jackets appeared to score a third goal that would’ve made it 3-1 prior to Schaerfer’s equalizer, but officials waved it off on the ice because Charlie Coyle made contact in the crease with Islanders goalie David Rittich (20 saves).
Replays showed that Coyle was pushed into the crease by an Islanders defender, but the Blue Jackets didn’t challenge the call because it likely would’ve failed and given New York a power play.
Merzlikins, playing with rested legs as part of alternating goaltending tandem with Jet Greaves, was the biggest reason the Jackets trailed by only a goal after one period. A sluggish start on short rest for Columbus contributed to the Islanders dominating to start out, when they had near complete control of the puck.
It forced an early cross-checking penalty on Damon Severson that led to a 1-0 lead at 5:53 on Schaefer’s goal to cap the ensuing power play. Schaefer, picked first overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, is the youngest player in the NHL at age 18.Â
It took most of the second for the Jackets to tie it, 1-1, on Wood’s fourth goal of the season. After going to the front of the net following a pass from Boone Jenner to Adam Fantilli, Wood scored with 4:39 left in the period by redirecting Fantilli’s pass from the right wing.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.socialÂ