Story by
Merzlikins 'lost it' on stick smash in Columbus Blue Jackets' loss to New York Islanders
- Story by
- Merzlikins 'lost it' on stick smash in Columbus Blue Jackets' loss to New York Islanders
Anybody who's ever sliced a tee shot into the water and then chucked their driver into the drink can relate to Elvis Merzlikins ' emotions at the end of the Blue Jackets ' 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Nov. 2 at UBS Arena.
The Blue Jackets were playing the second game of a back-to-back. During the span in which the exhausted club allowed two goals in the final 1:07 to go from leading 2-1 to losing the game, Merzlikins smashed his stick over the crossbar. It took two big whacks to break.
Advertisement
More: Columbus Blue Jackets defensive depth challenged by Mateychuk, Gudbranson injuries
"Well, he's frustrated," Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. "Would we like him to hold his composure? Yeah, no question. We've talked to him, and it happens. We get that there's high emotions and what have you, but the more calm we can stay ..."
Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins receives encouragement from a young fan after giving up a goal to the Avalanche on Oct. 16.
Evason, a former NHL center who himself played with high intensity and grit, paused a beat.
"We all lose our (expletive) sometimes," he said. "So ... it happened."
It's happened previously , too, which is why Merzlikins wasn't thrilled with his inability to keep from boiling over in such a public display. After two days of simmering down, he reflected on it.
Advertisement
"It's something that I'm really not proud of, and I apologize to many people because I hold myself (back) many times," he said. "There is the idea to break (my stick), because it's just gonna be a release, but the problem with that, breaking the stick, why I'm not proud of it, is because this is the National Hockey League. There are a lot of kids coming to watch you. They admire you. They want to be, one day, you ... and you are showing them the wrong example."
"It’s nothing to be proud of, but it’s sports, as well," Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins said of smashing his stick during a 3-2 loss to the Islanders.
Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins on displaying frustration: 'It's nothing to be proud of, but it's sports'
Merzlikins keeps track of how many sticks he's smashed during his professional career.
Advertisement
By his count, it happened twice in Switzerland, and it's happened twice in the NHL. (That's not counting an unsuccessful attempt to snap a stick while leaving the ice during a 7-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on April 3 at Nationwide Arena last season.)
The first such instance in the NHL occurred during John Tortorella's tenure as head coach, which Merzlikins remembers vividly.
"He made (it) pretty clear that I can't do that," Merzlikins said. "Again, it's nothing to be proud of, but it's sports, as well. Players on the bench, I see many sticks break, and it's just frustration when things don't go your way, like you wish."
It's not just hockey players.
Advertisement
Other pro athletes have reached similar boiling points on tennis courts, baseball diamonds, basketball courts and football fields. They have melted down into epic rants, smashed rackets, spiked balls into the ground, tossed helmets and even snapped wooden bats like toothpicks.
It's almost par for the course, so to speak, even though it's always a bad look.
"Unfortunately, on emotions like that, you don't control it," Merzlikins said. "And, yes, I lost it, and I let my anger go over me, and frustration, but at the end of the day, it's also a sport."
ELMONT, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 02: Simon Holmstrom #10 of the New York Islanders scores the game-winning goal against Elvis Merzlikins #90 of the Columbus Blue Jackets at 19:22 of the third period at UBS Arena on November 02, 2025 in Elmont, New York. The Islanders defeated the Blue Jackets 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Series of unfortunate events led to stick smash by Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins
The unfortunate sequence of events leading up to Merzlikins' latest meltdown were galling.
Advertisement
After a fantastic effort that had his tired team up 2-1 late in the third, a potential victory and two points in the standings slipped away from Merzlikins and the Blue Jackets on two flukish Islanders goals scored 29 seconds apart.
The first was accidentally deflected past Merzlikins by Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski , who tried to stop a bouncing shot from the point. The second clanged off the right goal post before sliding through Merzlikins' pads and into the crease for Simon Holmstrom 's winning tap-in.
Anders Lee of the New York Islanders celebrates his game-tying goal at the 18:53 mark of the third period against Elvis Merzlikins and the Blue Jackets on Nov. 2.
Merzlikins, enraged, responded with two violent hacks at the crossbar before leaving with a badly damaged paddle.
Advertisement
"It was hard to accept something like that," he said. "The guys were tired, and obviously, New York was fresh. You could tell that from the very first shift, and in some way, we managed to block them and get under control, the game, and lead, and then ... this is what happens in the NHL, you know?"
It can be a maddening sport, especially when games are decided by bad bounces and other things players can't control. Merzlikins said he will continue trying to contain himself when things get heated, but that's probably not a realistic expectation for the rest of his career or even this season.
"I mean, that's the sport," he said. "It's something you can't control in that moment and it's just ... the sparkle hits, and you react."
Like Evason put it, we all lose our (expletive) sometimes.
Advertisement
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Merzlikins 'lost it' on stick smash in Blue Jackets' loss to Islanders
