In Columbus, Elvis Merzlikins made 41 saves through extra time on Tuesday night, and then stopped two Detroit Red Wings skaters in the skills competition for a 1-0 win.
“It feels really good. I mean, it’s what we really needed,” Merzlikins said. “It really feels great. I think everybody was battling and fighting.”
It was the first win in 10 games for Columbus; they had been 0-7-2.
Patrik Laine and Oliver Bjorkstrand were credited with goals in the penalties phase of the evening.
“I can’t remember the last time we won (April 6). It feels good,” Laine said. “We’ve been playing some good hockey lately but just haven’t been able to get the dubs. So, this was huge. Just try to finish the season the right way and win these last five that we have.”
“He (Merzlikins) gave us every opportunity to win that he could,” Laine said . “He was so, so good tonight. I think everybody saw that. He was just making some unbelievable saves all night long. I think we did an all right job in front of him, but I think he was unreal tonight.”
Thomas Greiss made 33 saves in the shutout loss.
“It wasn’t a 0-0 game from the chances,” Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill said. “Both teams had a number of chances. It was a little bit too loose for my liking. … Both goalies had to make big saves for sure. Both were excellent.”
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