It has already been reported that Elvis Merzlikins, the goalkeeper of the Latvian hockey team and the NHL unit Columbus “Blue Jackets”, played half of the match in the test match on Thursday, during that time he scored one goal while the club won.
The Blue Jackets beat Boston Bruins 4: 1 (3: 0, 0: 1, 1: 0), the league’s strongest club.
Merzlikins repelled 12 of 13 shots in the game, repelling 92.3% of the show. His rival Jonas Korpisalo handled all 11 shots. The goalkeeper of the Latvian national team spent 30 minutes and six seconds on the court, while Korpisalo played 15 seconds less.
“I already mentioned it when we started the first training … If our goalkeepers are not up to the task, we won’t be in the Toronto bubble at all,” said the head coach. “I’m not surprised by the performance of both in this game. I think they both had a great game.”
“However, I still don’t know which of the goalkeepers will score in the match against the Maple Leafs in Toronto. We will discuss this among the coaches.”
At the press conference, Tortorella did not hide that everyone wants to play games that have some meaning, because for the time being, the activities take place in the form of training and testing games.
The head coach pointed out that the team’s game could be improved, but it is clear that Liems Foudijs, who has only played two matches in the NHL so far, will be able to play in Toronto. In the test match against the Boston Bruins, the striker earned a successful pass in the first goal, when he passed the awkward side of the stick shovel to Boon Gener in front of the goal.
“Blue Jackets” has also taken Matisa Kivleniekka to the end of the season in Canada, who has had the honor of the third issue for the time being.
The Columbus team will play its first qualifying tournament game with the Maple Leafs on Sunday, but the day before, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Theodore Bluger will try to win their first victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
In the qualifying round, the teams will compete for up to three successes in one club. The winners will enter the playoffs with a total of 16 teams.
Training camps were opened on July 13, followed by a 24-team tournament in two Canadian cities, Edmonton and Toronto.
The teams went to Edmonton and Toronto on July 26, where the qualifying round for the Stanley Cup playoffs will begin on August 1.
Club owners and players have already agreed on a format for 24 team elimination games. It envisages a series of up to three wins in the “play-off” qualifying round, followed by a switch to the traditional series format for up to four wins.
The league and the players’ union also agreed that the playoffs would not take place in the traditional grid, when each team knows with which pair the winner will play the next round, and the teams will be re-seeded after each round.
The Eastern Conference season will continue with Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens.
The Western Conference season will continue with the St. Louis Blues, Vegas’ Golden Knights, Colorado’s Avalanche, Dallas’s Stars, Edmonton’s Oilers, Nashville’s Predators, Vancouver’s Canucks, Calgary’s Flames, Winnipeg’s Jets, Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes.
Bruins, Lightning, Capitals and Flyers will compete in the Eastern Conference for sowing seats, but the following pairs will meet in a qualifying tournament with eight teams: Penguins vs. Canadiens, Hurricanes vs. Rangers, Islanders “against” Panthers “and” Blue Jackets “against” Maple Leafs “.
The Blues, Golden Knights, Avalanche and Stars will compete in the Western Conference for sowing seats, and the following pairs will meet in a qualifying tournament with eight teams: “Oilers” against “Blackhawks”, “Predators” against “Coyotes”, ” Canucks vs. Wild and Flames vs. Jets.
There are five Latvian hockey players in the NHL district this season: goalkeepers Elvis Merzļikins and Matīss Kivlenieks (Columbus “Blue Jackets”), as well as forwards Teodors Blugers (Pittsburgh “Penguins”), Zemgus Girgensons (Buffalo “Sabers”) and Rudd “Sabers” Senators “). For Girgenson and Balcer, the NHL season is over.
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