We are down to the final five games of the regular season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. As of this writing, Thursday afternoon, they are mathematically alive for a playoff spot. That can be seen as both good and bad depending on the lens you view it through.
While missing the playoffs means falling short of the goal, the Blue Jackets still have a lot to be proud of this season when they are able to look back on it. For now though, they’re going to empty the tank with just those five games left.
We start this week’s edition of Blue Jackets’ News & Rumors with an injury update.
Merzlikins Injured
The morning skate started as you might expect coming off a win on Tuesday night. The same skaters did line rushes. Elvis Merzlikins went through his normal routine as if he was starting Thursday night.
But then things took a turn.
First, Merzlikins did leave the ice early. That’s not entirely unusual though. Normally, the first goalie off is an indicator of who will start in net. Reid Robertson came on after Merzlikins left.
Then when Dean Evason was asked about the lineup, he didn’t want to disclose it. When asked if Merzlikins would start, he paused and then said “maybe.”
Turns out the maybe is a ‘no’ in this case. Merzlikins has an undisclosed injury and is out Thursday night against the Sabres, GM Don Waddell confirmed to the Hockey Writers. Nothing was observed out of the ordinary during the morning skate. He is considered day-to-day until there is further clarification from the team.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets did call Jet Greaves up on an emergency basis. With Greaves playing for the Monsters Wednesday night, conventional wisdom would suggest Daniil Tarasov would start Thursday. But we will have to wait for warmups for the official indication.
The rest of the lineup appears to be the same from Tuesday night’s win against the Senators. The one line Evason did confirm would stay together was the line of Dmitri Voronkov, Cole Sillinger and Mathieu Olivier.
Monahan’s Masterton Nomination
On Wednesday, it was announced that Sean Monahan was the Blue Jackets’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. In case you missed our write up, you can see that here.
On Thursday morning, we caught up with both Sillinger and Erik Gudbranson to get their reaction to Monahan’s nomination.
“The praise from John last year. We were talking to him about Mony. John always had amazing things to say,” Sillinger said. “That got me fired up when we signed him last summer. He’s a great leader. And obviously, the circumstances he came in losing his best friend and still being able to open up to us and be who he is off the ice and be that leader to everyone. And with his play on the ice too, he is a huge part of our team and our success this year. I can’t say enough good things about Mony. We’re blessed to be his teammate.”
“It’s the right call for sure,” Gudbranson said. “He’s a very, very high-end individual. I knew him from afar for a number of years before we played together in Calgary. Knew he was an awesome guy and played with him in Calgary and everything he dealt with there. He was pretty much bone-on-bone in his hip the whole year. Didn’t say a word and literally no one knew about it. A season-ending surgery and it was just water off his back. You knew he was going to come back and then for years, we tried to get him here. Now that he’s here, he’s exactly what everybody expects and more.”
NEWS: The Columbus chapter of the PWHA have nominated #CBJ forward Sean Monahan for the 2024-25 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.https://t.co/gqdF8nlcSd
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) April 9, 2025
“He’s just a quality individual. Lots of character. Really, really funny and a tremendous hockey player. He goes about his business the right way. He takes care of the details. He’s had so many injuries and his protocol’s a little bit different. The way he warms up and the way he has to take care of himself and he doesn’t miss any details on any given day. He’s prepared every single night and then you look at him on the ice and his compete level, his competitiveness, his drive and passion for the game is something that everybody pays attention to on a daily basis.”
It’s abundantly clear not only what Monahan has had to overcome in his career, but just how impactful he is to everyone he comes into contact with.
Monsters Add Two ATO’s
With junior seasons coming to an end, the Cleveland Monsters took the opportunity to sign a pair of Blue Jackets’ prospects to ATO’s.
Defenseman Charlie Elick and goaltender Evan Gardner each signed ATO’s Thursday. With just five games remaining in the regular season, it remains to be seen if either will get into a game. But to have the chance to be around the team will certainly benefit both players.
The Monsters have a magic number of five to clinch a spot in the AHL Playoffs. Any combination of points they gained coupled with points lost by Belleville will do the trick.
The big question coming down the stretch especially if the Blue Jackets miss the playoffs is if Denton Mateychuk will play in the AHL Playoffs. He was papered to the Monsters before the deadline and then recalled. Once Game 82 ends, we should learn quick what will happen in that regard.
Side Dishes
- Evason liked what he saw from Voronkov, Sillinger and Olivier Tuesday night. Here’s why he went to that trio as a line. “We were hoping to have just a physicality, a line that can keep the puck out of the net but play with that physicality as far as getting in on the forecheck and being big and strong. Voronkov made an unbelievable block at the end too and commitment to defense but they also scored. It was a good line.”
- The Blue Jackets have 244 goals this season going into Thursday. That’s a franchise record for 77 games, surpassing the 243 they scored in 77 games during the 2021-22 season. Their 3.17 goals per game average is their highest in franchise history.
- Boone Jenner needs just two goals to reach 200 in his NHL career.