“Blue Jackets” lost 1:4 (0:2, 1:1, 0:1) to Carolina “Hurricanes”.
Merzlikin dealt with 24 of 28 opponents’ shots, saving 85.7% of the shots.
Sebastian Aho, who scored in the minority, and William Carrier made it 2-0 for the Hurricanes in the first period.
At the end of the second period, Dmitry Voronkov reduced the deficit of the Columbus team to one accurate shot, but less than two minutes later, Jordan Martinuk restored the two-goal advantage of the “Hurricanes”. In the third period, Jesperi Kotkaniemi beat Merzlikin, making it 4:1 in favor of the home team.
Home goalkeeper Dustin Tokarski, who was guarding the goal of the NHL team after a break of almost 22 months, managed 27 shots and was recognized as the best player of the match.
“Blue Jackets” with 29 points in 31 games are ranked 13th in the Eastern Conference table, while “Hurricanes” are in fourth place with 39 points in 30 matches.