Merzlikins will get the starting nod on the road against the Wild on Thursday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.
Merzlikins has reached the 20-win mark in just one of his five NHL seasons and likely will struggle to get to that threshold this year as well. If the 30-year-old backstop continues to underwhelm, he could see Daniil Tarasov stealing starts away from him down the stretch.