Merzlikins stopped 19 of 21 shots in Tuesday's 3-0 loss to the Flames. The third goal was an empty-netter.
Merzlikins played well in a close game, but the Flames got two power-play goals from defensemen. This was enough to hand Merzlikins his first regulation loss in eight outings. The 30-year-old netminder is down to 8-6-2 with a 3.00 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 16 starts. He'll likely split the Blue Jackets' upcoming back-to-back with Daniil Tarasov. That pair of games features tricky matchups against the Oilers on Thursday and the Canucks on Friday.