With the Blue Jackets trailing the game by a 2-1 score at the end of the second period, Merzlikins, who was visually fed up with the traffic in front of him through 40 minutes, delivered a bit of a hook to the back of the leg of Greenway and immediately got in his face, standing nose-to-nose, staring the big winger down.
It's one of those moments where you can just see the competitive edge come out in both players. The situation really didn't boil over the way it could have, but it was a pretty intense staring contest.
I said it a couple of years back before the Leafs had acquired Jack Campbell, but I wish they'd have targeted Elvis Merzlikins in a trade. Not that I don't appreciate Campbell, and not that anyone could have foreseen Soupy's rapid drop off this season, but that edge in Merzlikins' game has always been there.
Obviously, now that he's been extended long-term in Columbus, the Latvian netminder is not going anywhere, but he'd have looked great in a Leafs jersey.
POLL | ||
MARS 12 | 131 ANSWERS Elvis Merzlikins and Jordan Greenway share an intense stare down in Friday's Wild/Jackets game Rate this move by Merzlikins | ||
Dumb. Greenway would destroy him. | 23 | 17.6 % |
Love it. Hints of Potvin | 50 | 38.2 % |
Goalies shouldn't provoke players | 17 | 13 % |
Couldn't care less | 41 | 31.3 % |
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