It was a night bigger than just hockey in Pittsburgh on Saturday, as the Penguins and their fans said farewell to one of the all-time great goaltenders, Marc-André Fleury. The three-time Stanley Cup Champion returned to the city where his NHL career began and finished it off in storybook fashion. Fleury entered in the third period, stopped all eight shots he faced, and closed the book on his NHL career with a 4-1 preseason win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Related: Blue Jackets Fall to Penguins in Marc-Andre Fleury’s Return to Pittsburgh
Sidney Crosby, Ville Koivunen, and Rickard Rakell provided the scoring, while Sergei Murashov played the first 40 minutes in net, stopping 12 of 13 shots for Pittsburgh. For Columbus, Elvis Merzlikins went the distance, making 32 saves on 35 shots, while Luca Del Bel Belluz scored the lone Blue Jackets’ goal in the first period.
Although the Blue Jackets played with a lineup filled mostly with players on the bubble and American Hockey League (AHL) players, there were still important storylines to take away from the night. Below are three of them from the 4-1 loss.
Del Bel Belluz Pushing for a Roster Spot
Del Bel Belluz had another impressive preseason game, scoring the lone goal for the Blue Jackets as he tapped one in off a great play and pass from Yegor Chinakhov in the first period.
He centered the top line with Cole Sillinger to his left and Chinakhov to his right, taking plenty of important faceoffs in this game, including five against one of the best all-time at draws in Crosby. He went 1-for-5 on draws against Crosby, 1-for-4 against Evgeni Malkin, and 6-for-15 (40%) overall.
In the honorary shootout after regulation, Del Bel Belluz scored on Fleury in the third round with a slick move, the final NHL shot Fleury will ever face. He talked more about the goal post-game.
“It could go down as maybe the last goal ever on Fleury. I guess I could say I have it. It’s definitely a moment I’ll never forget. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a building that loud before. It was really electric. It was cool. I think maybe I’ll get booed every time I come here now, I don’t know.”
Head coach Dean Evason also spoke on the Del Bel Belluz shootout goal.
“One thought was to just shoot it in the corner, but the other is you have to play the game and score goals. We did not decide to do the shootout; they did. So we tried to score, and we did.”
Del Bel Belluz also spoke on pushing for a roster spot as camp winds down, with cuts coming Sunday.
“Like I have said before, I want to be a Blue Jacket. I want to play here. Every day, every game, every time I am at the rink, it is important for me to show my best and what I can do.”
Whether he makes the roster or not, he cannot be claimed off waivers due to his contract and will remain a great option in case of injuries to the forward group if sent down to the Cleveland Monsters.
Evason then spoke on the roster cuts coming Sunday and moving forward into the final two preseason games.
“We will be down to one group, then decide who plays each night. We have a couple of practices now, which is great. I do not want to give a number until things happen, but it will be pretty much our group.”
Chinakhov Pushing for Top-Six Minutes
Chinakhov has put together a really strong preseason and is making it clear he wants to stick around in Columbus. He has shown off his sharp passing, speed both with and without the puck, his quick release, and his ability to contribute on special teams. On Saturday, he set up Del Bel Belluz for the lone Blue Jackets’ goal for his third point in three preseason games and was another example of the impact he can make on the rush.
After spending plenty of time as a healthy scratch late last season, it feels like he is starting to earn back the trust of the coaching staff. If he keeps this up, I would not be surprised to see him on the top power play or at least the second unit and slotted into a top-six forward role this season.
These last two preseason games will be telling since the roster will be made up of NHL regulars, but a healthy and confident Chinakhov can be a major weapon for this team. Columbus missed him badly last season, and his presence might have helped solve some of the power-play struggles that dragged them down late in the season.
Goaltending Battle Shaking Out
Merzlikins got the start and played the full 60 minutes on Saturday night, stopping 32 of 35 shots in what was mostly a solid showing. I do not think fans should be worried about him right now, but I would not be shocked to see Jet Greaves play more games between the two this season.
Greaves has been the more impressive of the two so far this preseason, especially after his solid performance against the Buffalo Sabres last week. I would expect to see him in one of the final two preseason games, if not both. Greaves just looks calmer in goal, more positional, and has yet to show the kind of costly mistakes that have followed Merzlikins through his short NHL career.
Related: Blue Jackets Need to Have Short Leash With Merzlikins
Merzlikins’ night had its highs and lows. On the first goal, Crosby broke into the zone off a feed from Avery Hayes and beat him over the shoulder after pulling him in tight. The second goal was more unfortunate than anything else. As the clock wound down late in the second period, Merzlikins kicked out a rebound that deflected off Erik Gudbranson and landed right back in front, where Rakell buried it with just 1.6 seconds remaining for the power-play tally.
Later in the third, Merzlikins tried to play the puck up the ice from behind the net, but turned it over directly to Koivunen, who buried it.
Evason addressed his performance afterward.
“Do we want him throwing a pass up the middle and turning it over? No. But he played really well, made some great saves, and his puck-handling was fantastic up to that point. He just got ahead of himself, maybe thought he was Marc-André Fleury for a second.”
Outside of the one glaring mistake, Merzlikins actually played a solid game. He moved the puck well most of the night, made several strong saves in tight with the blocker, and flashed a sharp glove on the penalty kill. The issue remains the same as it has been, the one big error that overshadows the rest of his game. This just does not seem to be going away, as it has plagued his career in Columbus, which is why Greaves is the better fit for the starter role in my eyes.
Looking ahead, Mathieu Olivier had this to say post-game about the final stretch as we close in on the regular season.
“We are all excited for the regular season, no question. But our job is to play and focus on our own game. We have enough depth to be comfortable with anyone. These games are important to get our timing, habits, and systems in place. We need them.”
The Blue Jackets have just two preseason games left, both against the Washington Capitals. One will be at home on Tuesday, Sept. 30, and the other on the road Saturday, Oct. 4, in Washington. Faceoff is at 7:00 PM ET on Tuesday and will be shown on FanDuel Sports Network.
