Elvis Merzlikins of Riga, Latvia became the fifth Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender all-time to record 10 or more career shutouts on Tuesday. He accomplished the feat in a 1-0 Blue Jackets win over the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Merzlikins made 21 saves for the shutout. He was not very busy in the first two periods, as he only made four saves in the first period and five saves in the second period. Blue Jackets rookie left winger Dmitri Voronkov of Angarsk, Russia was the only player to score in the game as he scored from Americans Zach Werenski of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and Johnny Gaudreau of Salem, New Jersey at 4:11 of the third period.
This was Merzlikins’s first shutout of the season. He had five with the Blue Jackets in his rookie year of 2019-20, and two shutouts each in 2020-21, and 2021-22. Let’s take a look at this time of the four other Blue Jackets’s goalies with 10 or more career shutouts.
Sergei Bobrovsky
The current Florida Panthers goaltender from Novokuznetsk, Russia has 40 career shutouts, of which 33 came with the Blue Jackets from 2012 to 2019. The all-time Blue Jackets career shutout leader by a wide margin, Bobrovsky led the National Hockey League with nine shutouts in the 2018-19 season. Twice Bobrovsky won the Vezina Trophy as a Blue Jacket. The first time came in 2012-13, when he had four shutouts, and the second time came in 2016-17, when he had seven shutouts.
Steve Mason
The native of Oakville, Ontario had 19 shutouts with the Blue Jackers from 2008 to 2012. Mason had an outstanding rookie season with Columbus in 2008-09. That year he won the Calder Trophy, and led the NHL with 10 shutouts.
Marc Denis
The native of Montreal, Quebec had 12 shutouts with the Blue Jackets from 2001 to 2006. In back-to-back seasons in 2002-03, and 2003-04, Denis had a career high five shutouts.
Pascal Leclaire
The native of Repentigny, Quebec had 10 shutouts with the Blue Jackets from 2006 to 2008. Of Leclaire’s 10 shutouts, nine came in the 2007-08 season. That season, he was second in the NHL in shutouts. The only goaltender with more shutouts was Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. The native of Are, Sweden had 10 shutouts.
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