There were two shutouts by the exact same score of 1-0 on Tuesday. The Columbus Blue Jackets blanked the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in a shootout, while the Washington Capitals shutout the New York Islanders 1-0.
At the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH, Elvis Merzlikins of Riga, Latvia made 41 saves for his seventh career shutout. The 41 saves tied a career-high for the most saves Merzlikins posted during a shutout. He also had 41 saves in a 5-0 Blue Jackets win over the New Jersey Devils on January 18, 2020.
In the Blue Jackets win over the Red Wings, Merzlikins made 13 saves in the first period, 14 saves in the second period, nine saves in the third period, and five saves in overtime. He then stopped Jakub Vrana and Adam Erne of the Red Wings in a shootout. Troy Stecher of Richmond, British Columbia led the Red Wings with six shots on goal.
This was Merzlikins’s second shutout of the 2020-21 season. He also notched a shutout on February 18 in a 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators. In the Blue Jackets win over the Red Wings, Thomas Greiss of the Red Wings also picked up a shutout even though it was in a losing cause. For Greiss, it was his 14th career NHL shutout, but first with the Red Wings.
Meanwhile, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., Vitek Vanecek of Havlickuv, Czech Republic made 18 saves for the shutout. He made seven saves in the first period, five saves in the second period, and six saves in the third period. Jordan Eberle of Regina, Saskatchewan and Ryan Pulock of Dauphin, Manitoba each led the Islanders with three shots on goal.
The Capitals got their lone goal of the game at 1:29 of the first period from Daniel Sprong. Like Merzlikins, Vanecek recorded his second shutout of the season. The first came in a 6-0 Capitals win over the Buffalo Sabres on March 15.
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