Revisiting An Iconic Merzlikins Moment In Honour Of His 200th NHL Game

In honour of Merzlikins' 200th NHL game, let's take a moment to revisit one of his most iconic moments from his career.

Let's set the scene. It's December 21, 2023, and the game is tied 2-2 with 2:20 left in overtime between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals when all of a sudden, mayhem breaks out.

Blue Jackets' goalie Elvis Merzlikins and Capitals forward Tom Wilson are wrestling inside the Columbus net, and punches are being thrown.

The play starts with Wilson coming down with a teammate on Merzlikins, who made the initial save before appearing to stick out his leg and sending Wilson over him into the net.

After that, Merzlikins appears to lose his temper and starts to rough up Wilson. However, he is not one to shy away from an altercation, so he starts to fight back. 

Before you know it, the play is whistled down, and everyone on the ice is rushing down the ice to the Blue Jackets end of the ice to join in.

This is the type of stuff that every NHL fan loves to see. Tensions and tempers, and to have it all happen in OT, makes it even more wild to see.

After the game, Merzlikins talked about the altercation and how Wilson had been after him all game. 

There are a few other moments in Merzlikins career that had been iconic; however, this one was by far the most rare and entertaining.

Congrats on 200 NHL games, Merzlikins! 

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