{"id":411281,"date":"2026-01-16T19:07:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/411281\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T19:07:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:07:34","slug":"merzlikins-credits-new-coach-for-columbus-blue-jackets-improvement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/411281\/","title":{"rendered":"Merzlikins credits ‘new coach’ for Columbus Blue Jackets’ improvement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since the Blue Jackets<\/a> hired Rick Bowness in a surprise coaching change Jan. 12<\/a>, players have mostly said a new voice is refreshing without saying much about former coach Dean Evason<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That’s not how goalie Elvis Merzlikins operates.<\/p>\n

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More Blue Jackets news: Columbus Blue Jackets make a lead stand up for 3rd straight win<\/a><\/p>\n

The enigmatic goalie needed a fresh start<\/a> after falling out of favor with Evason and got it Jan. 15 in a 4-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks<\/a>. Merzlikins made 30 saves for his first goaltending win since Dec. 4 and was named the game\u2019s first star.<\/p>\n

It was his first start for Bowness, who improved to 2-0-0 since taking over. Speaking with TV analyst Jody Shelley on the bench after the game, Merzlikins was blunt when asked what\u2019s driving the Jackets\u2019 three-game winning streak.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew coach?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d Shelley replied.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNew coach,\u201d Merzlikins repeated.<\/p>\n

Asked in the locker room how it feels to have a new coach, his answer was slightly more diplomatic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited,\u201d Merzlikins said. \u201cNothing against Dean. His decisions were his decisions and I\u2019m mature enough. I\u2019m obviously happy we have a new coach because it\u2019s a new energy right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowness has stated that making life easier for their goalies is something the Blue Jackets need to accomplish by blocking shots, taking away shooting lanes and forcing more opposing shots to the perimeter. Merzlikins noticed a difference and credited his teammates for it.<\/p>\n

He also issued a prediction for the Jackets\u2019 next game against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> on Jan. 17 at PPG Paints Arena, where they often struggle.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNew coach, new attitude, three wins \u2026 now you go to Pittsburgh,\u201d Shelley said, as Blue Jackets fans listened closely. \u201cHow do you prepare for that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Smirking, Merzlikins prompted a roar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to win, even there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger<\/a> can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com<\/a> and @BrianHedger.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: No ‘Bones’ about it, Elvis Merzlikins likes playing for Rick Bowness<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ever since the Blue Jackets hired Rick Bowness in a surprise coaching change Jan. 12, players have mostly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5108],"tags":[3644,5180,51730,897,230,5179,2923,7819,5,7006,4,100,12090,27],"class_list":["post-411281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-blue-jackets","tag-bluejackets","tag-brian-hedger","tag-columbus","tag-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-columbusbluejackets","tag-dean-evason","tag-elvis-merzlikins","tag-hockey","tag-jody-shelley","tag-nhl","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-rick-bowness","tag-vancouver-canucks"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115906350273589383","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}