Blue Jackets Goalie Leaves Morning Skate in Distress Ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs Matchup

In an unfortunate turn of events for the Columbus Blue Jackets, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins appeared to injure himself after making a save, taking a long time to get to his feet and heading to the bench before leaving.

Head coach Dean Evason wasn't sure about his goaltender's status for Wednesday night, but his appearance after a brief hiatus is a positive sign.

If the goaltender is going to miss Wednesday's game, it'll be a big blow to a Blue Jackets team who has been on a two-game skid after rattling off six straight victories.

Merzlikins this season has a 16-11-3 record with a 3.06 GAA and .890 SV% as the Jackets #1 netminder and is their goaltender of the foreseeable future.

For his career, Merzlikins has a 84-90-33 record with a 3.18 GAA and .902 SV% in 221 games (207 starts) since being drafted 76th overall by Columbus in 2014.

The onus would fall on Daniil Tarasov to take the reigns against the Maple Leafs, though has struggled this season posting a 4-6-2 record with a 3.64 GAA and .872 SV% but did make a little bit of history this season.

Toronto will counter with Dennis Hildeby, as the rookie netminder is giving Joseph Woll a much-needed break. The Swedish netminder has a 3-2-0 record to go along with a 3.18 GAA and .884 SV%.