Elvis Merzļikins | Foto: NHL
Elvis Merzlikkin, the goalkeeper of the Columbia Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL), has commented on the game against Montreal’s Canadiens.
It has already been reported that Merzlikkin and the Blue Jackets beat Montreal’s Canadiens 2: 1, causing their opponents to lose their ninth in a row. Merzlikin dealt with 30 of 31 opponents’ shots in that match, repelling 96.8% of the shots. The Latvian was recognized as the second brightest star of the game.
“I’ll be honest and I’ll admit that I don’t like to play so early,” Merzlin said. “It simply came to our notice then. I remember that in the past I also had an early match against the Ottawa “Senators”, then I threw three discs in the first period and was replaced. This time I think more about fighting as if I were in training, just don’t worry and enjoy the duel. At the same time, I knew that the opponents would be serious and prepared. We were well protected and that’s good. ”
“There were not many throws against me in the first third,” said the Latvian goalkeeper. “It simply came to our notice then. The Canadiens are having a hard time, but it’s a good team. Admittedly, a very important player for us is Patrick Laine, he is one of the key hockey players, because when he did not play, we could see that we missed him. All other players are important to us. ”
“Last season we had an experience with a long series of losses and then it is a very strange feeling, because everyone is trying to do their best, but everything is going wrong. We got it last season and it’s very difficult to get out of it. At the moment, it is important to continue doing your job, to train hard and enjoy your time on the ice, ”Merzlikkin analyzed.
In the last seconds of the regular time, the victory of the Columbus team in the numerical majority was won by Patrick Laine. “To be honest, I have never seen anything like it in my life. It was something impressive. The goalkeeper had no chance to catch a shot and if there were both goalkeepers in the goal, there would be no chance to repel Laine’s shot. It was a strong and very accurate shot. ”
