'That win was definitely for Matiss': Blue Jackets rout Arizona Coyotes in emotional season-opener
Elvis Merzlikins makes 36 saves while wearing Matiss Kivlenieks' jersey number; Blue Jackets teammates assure 8-2 victory with selfless effort and eight goals.
Brian Hedger
It was one of those nights that will be remembered for a long time.
Inspired by Matiss Kivlenieks’ memory, the Blue Jackets opened their season Thursday with an 8-2 rout of the Arizona Coyotes.
It wasn’t their best performance, according to coach Brad Larsen, but it was historic — starting with an emotional pregame ceremony that featured Kivlenieks’ family dropping a ceremonial first puck and finishing with the most goals ever scored by the Blue Jackets in a season-opener.
“It was my most important game,” said goalie Elvis Merzlikins, who wore Kivlenieks' No. 80 and made 36 saves for the win. “I was obviously a little nervous because I didn’t want to embarrass the number in my first and last game that I wear that number here in Columbus. It was hard start, but I’m happy and proud of myself that mentally I could handle it — and obviously team, they helped me. They helped me right from the start.”
Matiss Kivlenieks:Late goalie's presence felt on Columbus Blue Jackets' opening night
Kivlenieks was killed July 4 by a fireworks mortar shell while celebrating a wedding at the summer home of Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace. Merzlikins and his wife, Aleksandra, witnessed it and are still grieving, along with Legace and his family.
The emotions of remembering "Kivi" weren't easy to overcome.
A pregame ceremony included Kivlenieks’ mother, stepfather, sister and godmother — who traveled from Latvia for the game. The sight of them at center ice nearly brought Merzlikins to tears.
After collecting his emotions, he found his top form and his teammates did the rest.
Alexandre Texier scored 40 seconds into the game to put Columbus up 1-0 and the Jackets didn’t stop scoring until eight goals were on the scoreboard.
At the end, a packed house rose in unison to chant “C-B-J!” like it was a playoff game.
“That win was definitely for Matiss,” said Max Domi, who had a goal and two assists. “Emotional summer, emotional ceremony for everyone involved. Having his family here was something pretty special and it’s such as tough situation. But you know what? We had a chance to celebrate his life tonight … amazing human being that was so happy every single day and we miss him a lot, but that was for him tonight.”
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored two goals and assisted on two for the first four-point game of his NHL career. Five other Blue Jackets joined Bjorkstrand and Domi with multi-point games.
Cole Sillinger made his NHL debut and picked up his first career point with an assist on Domi's goal. Every member of the team’s new leadership group scored goals too, including captain Boone Jenner and alternate captains Zach Werenski, Gustav Nyquist and Bjorkstrand.
Defenseman Jake Bean scored a goal in his Blue Jackets debut, while Patrik Laine, Jakub Voracek, Jack Roslovic and Vladislav Gavrikov all had two assists.
No lap for Cole Sillinger
Had this been a typical night, Merzlikins would’ve allowed Sillinger to skate a couple solo laps around the Jackets’ zone before making his NHL debut.
This wasn’t a typical game because of the Kivlenieks tributes, which included Merzlikins leading the Jackets onto the ice for warmup wearing Kivlenieks’ jersey.
“Wearing (his jersey) in warmups, especially, his last name … it was a weird feeling,” Merzlikins said. “It was weird feeling. It was like he was there with me. I mean, this game was my most important game and I’m definitely going to remember it forever, this game.”
Max Domi, Alexandre Texier got it started
It took 40 seconds for the Blue Jackets to go up 1-0 on Texier’s goal, which he scored by skating to the net and tipping a long backhand shot Domi shoveled toward the net from the right wing.
It was the second-fastest goal scored in a season-opener in franchise history, trailing only Geoff Sanderson’s goal 31 seconds into a game Oct. 4, 2001 against the St. Louis Blues.
It also snapped a 42-game goal drought for Texier, who wears No. 42.
Patrik Laine finds a new power play ‘office’
Bjorkstrand put the Blue Jackets up 2-0 by redirecting Werenski’s shot with 5:55 left in the first period. It capped a power play that included an interesting strategic changeup involving Laine and Werenski.
Laine usually camps out on the left wing, near the face-off dot, while Werenski runs the point from above the circles. The two switched positions during that power play, which gave Werenski the puck for a wrister from the left circle that Bjorkstand deflected.
Laine was at the top, ready for a one-timer had a setup feed come. It’s a tactic the Washington Capitals deploy when opposing penalty-killers cheat their coverage toward Alex Ovechkin "office" in the left circle.
That’s Laine’s “office” too and teams in the preseason were overplaying him there. Moving him around adds another layer of uncertainty to where his rockets will come from, plus his skill as a passer allows him to run the point like a defenseman.
“Oh, yeah, that’s by design,” Larsen said. “If you’ve ever watched Washington, they try to free up Ovechkin by moving him up to the top. These guys are always talking. Now they’ve been working together for almost two weeks now. They go to Plan B and C when they take away A.”
Oliver Bjorkstrand stays hot
Bjorkstrand is one of the most unheralded players in the NHL and continues to excel while the rest of the hockey world sleeps on his talent.
He’s a silent assassin.
Bjorkstrand followed his five goals in the preseason with two goals and four points, showing again how lethal he can be with the puck on his stick. If he can stay healthy for a full season, surpassing 30 goals shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody who watches this team closely.
Elvis Merzlikins' jaw-dropping save
Merzlikins made the save of the night against Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse at 3:21 of the second, preserving a 3-1 lead.
Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz executed a 3-on-2 rush to near perfection after carrying into the Columbus zone. Keller fed a pass to Schmaltz in the slot and quickly set up for a one-timer off a return feed. Rather than clapping it toward the net, Keller saw Crouse skating to the back side of the net and sent him a pass for a redirection from the doorstep.
Merzlikins did the splits, lunging far to his right while stretching his right leg behind him and stopped the puck with that leg pad. He then made a second save with his glove that wasn't officially recorded because off-ice officials apparently missed Crouse’s follow off the rebound.
“That was crazy play, actually,” Merzlikins said. “(Keller) really got me. I was super late (getting over), but again, like … for all games, this one was the most important. I actually wasn’t thinking about the result. I was just thinking to win the game. I knew that and I didn’t put the pressure on myself. I didn’t want to make shutout, if I’m honest, because that would be really hard. That would be harder on me, so for me it was most important thing … just win the game. That’s all that I wanted to do.”
Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen not thrilled
Larsen called it a “strange” game because he felt the Coyotes outplayed his team for much of it. The Blue Jackets, however, roasted Arizona goalie Carter Hutton for eight goals on 26 shots.
“Seeing Matiss’ family was tough on a lot of guys,” said Larsen, who won his first game as an NHL head coach. “We talked yesterday as a group about the things we may go through. It was a tough game … I don’t think we played all that well. We found ways to score, and that’s awesome. We have such a better game in us.”
Boone Jenner, Cole Sillinger and Max Domi clicking
They’ve only been playing together a week, ever since Domi (shoulder surgery) was cleared for contact, but the Blue Jackets’ third line has looked impressive in their only two games together.
"Definitely a good blend," Domi said.
After combining for a goal by Domi in the Jackets’ final preseason tune-up, the unit's chemistry carried over to this game. Domi assisted on a goal by Jenner that made it 3-0 early in the second and Sillinger set Domi up for a goal that made it 7-1 at 8:48 of the third.
It was Sillinger's first NHL point.
“Domi made a great play there, and (the puck) was in the air,” Sillinger said. “I was lucky enough to hit it out of the air, so the whole way down it was a foot race. The whole way down, I hear ‘Domes’ say ‘Silly, behind ya, behind ya,’ so I just tried to take body position and tap the puck behind my legs. He was right there. He’s gonna score that shot. It was a great shot.”
Mike Sillinger returns to Columbus
Sillinger's parents, Mike and Karla, had a great vantage point from their seats, as did family friends Greg Henchel and Liza Kessler — whom Cole is staying with in New Albany. Mike played for 12 NHL teams over a career that spanned 17 years, including two seasons with the Blue Jackets (2001-2003).
Cole was born at Riverside Hospital during that stint.
"I was nervous throughout the day, but I'm not too nervous now, after watching him on the ice and just seeing the warmup," the elder Sillinger said prior to the game. "It obviously brings back memories of when I played. Cole was born here and I got traded a couple months after. Now, it's kind of crazy. Here I am 20 years later and I've got an 18-year old who's playing his first game. It's a special time."
Blue Jacket vs former Blue Jacket
Sean Kuraly, the Jackets’ fourth-line center, got into a fight late in the second period with Arizona’s Ryan Dzingel. It brought the crowd to its feet, briefly, for more than the reason of a scrap breaking out in the neutral zone.
Kuraly, who’s from Dublin, played for the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets development program and advanced to play collegiately at Miami University. Dzingel, who’s originally from Chicago, played at Ohio State and also had a brief stint as a Blue Jacket to finish the 2018-19 season.
That stint did not end well.
Dzingel didn’t make many friends in Columbus, was scratched for a game against Kuraly’s Bruins in the playoffs and wasn’t extended a contract offer to extend his stay. He signed as a free agent the following summer with the Carolina Hurricanes and is now with the Coyotes.
Kuraly was thrilled to sign with the Blue Jackets this past summer and return to play for his "hometown" team. It made for good theatre, even though the fight didn’t last long.
Both got off a punch before they dropped to the ice together in a heap.
Elvis Merzlikins has plans for jersey
Merzlikins said this was the only time he will ever wear Kivlenieks’ jersey number in a game. Asked what he plans to do with the jersey he wore, he said there’s a frame already waiting for its arrival.
He’s going to hang it on the wall in a house that he and Aleksandra recently bought, along with one of Legace’s jerseys from his playing days with the Detroit Red Wings and a jersey sent by former Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois — a close friend who changed his number to 80 with the Winnipeg Jets to honor Kivlenieks.
Blue Jackets’ three stars
First
Matiss Kivlenieks, goalie, Blue Jackets
The late Blue Jackets goaltender was all over the arena in spirit, from a giant No. 80 banner unfurled before the game to “80” painted into the ice behind both nets. Columbus players, led by Merzlikins, played for their former teammate's memory and made sure the night ended with an inspirational Blue Jackets victory.
Second
Merzlikins, goalie, Blue Jackets
The Jackets’ star netminder was at his best with the No. 80 on his back. He made 36 saves, including his dazzling stop against the 3-on-2 rush in the second period that required him to do the splits.
Third
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Blue Jackets, right wing
After leading the team with five preseason goals, Bjorkstrand kept it rolling right into the regular season with two more plus two assists, including one on the power play.
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@BrianHedger