Anyone who watches hockey knows that as the time winds down, if your team is on the losing end, but the score is even relatively close (perhaps 3-1), you pull your goalie for an extra attacker. And that's exactly what Columbus tried to do with about 3:32 left in the game.
Bryan Rust took a shot, Elvis threw his stick towards the net, the shot (and the stick) went wide, and it turned into a foot race between Merzlikins and Teddy Blueger, who, coincidentally, are both from Latvia. The puck bounced off the end boards and landed right on Blueger's waiting stick. The 28 year old goalie took a flying leap in a desperate attempt at a stick-less save, but to no avail.
The Penguins ended up winning the game, 4-1, and just as Bob Errey said, it doesn't appear that Merzlikins was injured, just embarrassed. With that, the Penguins traditional end-of-a-winning-game statement from Mike Lange couldn't have been more true: «Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.»
