Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins temporarily away from team, Daniil Tarasov

Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is away from the team temporarily as his grandmother is “seriously ill” and he has returned to Latvia to be with family, Columbus announced Friday. Here’s what you need to know:

• The Blue Jackets added goaltender Daniil Tarasov to the roster on emergency recall from the Cleveland Monsters.
• Merzlikins, 28, is 7-17-2 this season with a 4.10 goals-against average and .880 save percentage in 29 games, 26 of them starts.
• Tarasov, 23, has gone 2-9-1 with a 3.28 GAA and .908 save percentage in 13 contests with the Blue Jackets this season.

Backstory

Merzlikins is in the first year of a five-year, $27 million contract. He left Tuesday’s loss to Pittsburgh with an illness.

Columbus is 20-37-7 this season, sitting last in the Eastern Conference.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Who will fill in for Merzlikins?

Merzlikins practiced with the Blue Jackets on Friday and was expected to be the starter on Saturday versus St. Louis. Tarasov was called up, but it’s unclear if he’ll get the start Saturday or if Michael Hutchinson will get the nod. Hutchinson was acquired in a trade-deadline deal with Las Vegas when the Blue Jackets traded Jonathan Quick to the Golden Knights. — Portzline

Merzlikins’ difficult 2022-23 campaign

It’s been a difficult season for Merzlikins in multiple ways. He’s played better lately, but he’s been one of the NHL’s worst goaltenders this season. His .880 save percentage is 49th and his 4.10 goals-against average is 52nd out of 52 goaltenders with at least 20 appearances this season. He’s also been out of the lineup two different times, first with an illness and later with a groin injury. On Tuesday, he left a game in Pittsburgh with a 3-0 lead after the first period because of an illness. The Blue Jackets lost that game 5-4 in OT. — Portzline

Tarasov thrust into backup role again

The Blue Jackets’ plan this season was for Tarasov to spend the entire season in Cleveland as an AHL No. 1, then ascend to a full-time job in the NHL next season. But injuries to both Merzlikins and the since-traded Joonas Korpisalo forced Tarasov to spend significant time in Columbus as a backup. Here he is again now for an unspecified amount of time.

Tarasov has played 13 games in the NHL and only nine in the AHL. He’s expected to be Merzlikins’ primary backup next season … not because his development is complete, but because he’ll require waivers to go back to the AHL. — Portzline

Required reading

(Photo: Marc DesRosiers / USA Today)