The Last Save: Inside the Blue Jackets Goaltenders’ Friendship and Tragedy (Re-Air)

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 18 January 2022

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Over the summer, Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks was struck and killed by fireworks at a 4th of July celebration in Michigan. It was a tragedy that hit especially hard for Kivlenieks’ friend and teammate, fellow netminder Elvis Merzlikins. The two goaltenders shared more than just their position: they were among just a handful of NHL players from the tiny nation of Latvia. Merzlikins even invited Kivlenieks to live with him and his wife in Columbus. Emily Kaplan joins the show to share the story of their friendship, the tragedy that took one life far too young, and how the Blue Jackets plan to honor their fallen teammate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	So hello, it's me, Pablo, interrupting you at the very top of the show,
0:04.0	to tell you that we originally aired this particular episode,
0:07.5	which I find particularly excellent and particularly moving,
0:11.6	back in October at the start of the NHL season with our friend and hockey reporter,
0:16.1	Emily Kaplan.
0:17.3	It's about a Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender, who you may have heard about over the summer when he died tragically.
0:25.2	And in this episode, we hear his story.
0:28.4	We come to understand how his team is honoring his memory.
0:32.9	And we learn how he saved a teammate of his.
0:37.0	One last time.
0:39.8	I'm Pablo Torre. It's Tuesday, January 18th.
0:44.8	This is ESPN Daily.
1:03.2	Emily Kaplan, the Columbus Blue Jackets are opening their season tonight at home against the Arizona Coyotes.
1:08.2	The Blue Jackets starting goaltender is a guy named Elvis Merslikens.
1:10.5	Tell me a bit about Elvis. Elvis is 27 years old. Firstly, he's one of the
1:14.2	best personalities in the league, but he's also a rising star in this league. Emily Kaplan covers
1:19.8	hockey for ESPN. He comes from Latvia, a small country of less than two million people
1:25.9	bordering the Baltic Sea.
1:31.1	Last year, there was only four Latvian players to play in the NHL.
1:32.8	It's a pretty big deal that he's here.
1:35.4	Buckhanded here to Abdel Cater, right back.
1:38.1	Oh, Elvis Boone's latterly to make the stop there.
	...

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